Old and Young, Inside Out
by Pey119
Summary: Sequel to Young and Old, Back and Bold. Nico's second year of school begins with some demands from the demigod world. (complete)
1. Chapter 1

The summer went by in a haze of pranks and potions. After Mrs. Weasley sent a very _long_ letter to Dumbledore, Nico got a letter in return that said that after each day of classes, Nico would have to report to the hospital wing for another potion.

He burned the letter in the fire but Ginny had already read it, sprouting to her mother and brothers the news.

Nico stayed in his room that whole day. He hated the idea of potions, hated that he needed them. More than anything, he hated that they worked just as good as nectar, ambrosia, and unicorn drought mixed...but they still didn't come up with a permanent solution.

A potion a day kept his hands from melting into the shadows. Two made him feel as if he had _some_ energy, which was good considering his want to sleep all day and night. Two wars, growing up twice. His body was sick of it, it seemed.

That was the only reason Ron didn't wake him up when he went to go get Harry. Nico woke up the next morning by hearing Mrs. Weasley's shouts, her voice filled with anger and worry.

_What the hell did they do? _Nico sat up, rubbed at his sore musces, tried to make sense of his surroundings. _It's too early in the morning for this_.

Ginny was suddenly in the doorway, her hair falling into her face. "Harry Potter's here! Oh, and mum said it's time for breakfast."

Nico blinked. "Harry's here? Why?"

His sister no more than shrugged before leaving the room, no doubt excited to meet her celebrity crush. He was the only thing she had talked about all summer.

Nico slipped into some clothes before walking downstairs, cracking his joints as he moved. Ankles, knees, neck, fingers and toes. Ron always said he might as well be part machine.

"What's going on?" Nico walked into the kitchen with his hand in his ratty hair, still getting used to the shortness of it ever since Mrs. Weasley forced a haircut. "Why's Harry here?"

Mrs. Weasley's face was suddenly red again with rage. "Your brothers thought to take it upon themselves to sneak out last night and..."

Nico sat beside Ron as his mother explained, his eyes on Harry and how that scar still reeked of death. "How are you, Harry?"

"Oh, I'm fine." Harry had shrunken under Mrs. Weasley's rage. "Rather glad to be out of there."

Nico nodded before picking at the toast set out in front of him. It was made just as Will always buttered it. He stayed silent as the others were assigned duties outside, knowing better than to speak up. He was too tired to do _anything_ nowadays.

Once they were all outside and he was alone with his mother in the kitchen, she set a potion in front of him. "Can you _believe_ them?"

Nico sipped at the potion before eating his toast to get the taste out of his mouth. "I _do_ believe they were starving him. He needed out of there."

Mrs. Weasley put her hands on her hips. "He's just a _boy_. How do they treat him like that?"

Nico shrugged. "We can just be glad he's here now." _I can protect him, here. There...I couldn't._

"That's for sure."

Mr. Weasley walked in then, looking tired after a long night of work. He collapsed into a chair just as the other Weasley kids ran in.

"What a night," he grumbled. "Nine raids! Nine! And old Mundungus Fletcher tried to put a hex on me when I had my back turned..."

Nico slipped out of the room and tiptoed upstairs. Their voices could still be heard as he entered his room. Before he could lay down, however, an Iris Message appeared before him.

"Nico!" Percy Jackson was in his camp shirt, his beaded necklace having gained a few more. "We haven't heard from you all summer. What did you say about keeping in contact?"

Nico glanced toward the door nervously. "Percy, keep your voice down. I don't want them knowing."

Percy tilted his head. "You mean the ones that took you in?"

Nico nodded. "Now what do you want?"

"You're not going to tell them?" he asked. "What if IM you in front of all them?"

"Then don't IM me." Nico stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Now, what do you want?"

Percy sighed. "Okay, so you know how I'm trying to start a life with Annabeth...I have work and we have our apartment and-"

"You don't have time for camp duties?" Nico guessed.

Percy nodded. "They need some senior campers to train the new ones. We've been getting a lot. Thirteen years ago the gods must have gone through heat-"

"Okay, so what are you asking?" Nico gestured around him. "I have a lifelong quest, you know. I have family and school."

"And you have weekends!" Percy added. "Weekends full of training young campers who can't figure out how to hold a sword."

Nico's eye twitched. "Why me?"

"Annabeth and I have jobs. Leo and Calypso have that business. Piper is in Tahlequah. Jason is...you know. Hazel and Frank have duties at Camp Jupiter along with Reyna. Even Clarisse and the Stolls are gone. You're like the only senior camper left." Percy explained.

"I look 12," Nico replied.

"You're almost 100!" Percy argued. "We can tell them who you are and they'll listen to you. So...please?"

Nico pinched the bridge of his nose. "School starts September 1. After that I'll come over on weekends."

Percy grinned. "Thanks, Neeks. And good luck at school."

Nico went to swipe his hand through the mist but stopped himself. "Percy?"

"Yeah?"

"What about Will? You didn't mention him."

"Oh," Percy gulped. "Um...he'll be there but he has college classes so is either working in the infirmary or studying..."

"He's going to college?" Nico asked. "To be a doctor?"

Percy nodded. "If he lives then he'll need a job too."

"Right..." Nico swallowed thickly. "Okay, bye."

"Nico, I didn't mean to make you upset-" Percy's voice disappeared as Nico swiped his hand through the message, revealing the bare wall where Percy was moments before. When he turned around he noticed Harry and Ron standing in the doorway.

"I was just showing Harry our room." Ron stepped further in. "Come on, Harry."

"So what was that?" he asked after a minute. "Demigod communication?"

"It was awesome," Harry admitted.

Nico glanced between the two of them before nodding. "An IM. It goes through the goddess of rainbows."

"Right," Harry replied. "Er, um...he said you're 100."

"He did." Ron agreed.

Nico sat on his bed before leaning his head against the wall. "Long story. I'll tell you when we have Hermoine."

"Yeah but we want to know." Ron sat next to him. "What year were you born?"

"1924." Nico laid down. "Now I'm going to bed. Goodnight." He turned towards the orange wall, tried to ignore their gaping eyes. Even in a wizarding world, he was a misfit.


	2. Chapter 2

The next week went by with Nico barely escaping more questions. Ron and Harry couldn't seem to get over the fact of his age, nor could they understand why he wasn't so prideful about it.

"You might as well have had the stone!" Ron had said. "Can you keep me immortal, too?"

Nico had then started to lecture him about the difference between being immortal and just cheating death, but it was then that he realized that was what he had done. He had cheated death, on orders of death himself.

_You shouldn't speak that thought out loud, son of Hades, _Hecate warned. _You don't want to be taken down to the Underworld for good._

Nico abruptly stopped the conversation and went upstairs to bed. He could hear Mrs. Weasley questioning Ron about what had happened.

When they finally got their Hogwarts letters Nico had come down to breakfast with an ache in his bones and sleep in his eyes. He sat at the table and stared at the letter laid out in front of him. "Where are the others?"

"Playing Quidditch," Mrs. Weasley sat by him. "Can we talk?"

Nico's stomach dropped just as anyone else's would at those words. "What did I do?"

"Nothing, nothing," she assured. "But something_ has_ been going on with you and Ron. He refuses to answer me. But maybe you will reconsider being silent..."

Nico let out a deep breath. "Do I have to?"

"Nico..."

He went to make up another lie, anything really to keep the truth from her, when another IM appeared before him. Camp filtered into the kitchen, sounds of swords were heard in the background.

"Oh gods..."

"Nico!" Percy grinned. "We have some good news from Rachel. But she wants to tell you personally."

"_Percy-"_

"What?"

Nico clenched his fists before punching the message, making it disappear from the kitchen and his sight. But it was too late to go back now.

"Nico Weasley-"

"I'll explain." Nico scratched the back of his head. "I'll...I'll explain. But I think we should go somewhere more private."

Mrs. Weasley got up and put silencing charms on the room around them. Her face had gone red before she got a chance to sit beside him. "_Explain."_

So he did. _Everything. _The more he talked, the more he felt like he could trust her. She was his mother, even if it wasn't biological. She loved him just as much as her other kids.

Trust. He could trust someone completely.

He told her about the casino, told her about what Rachel had seen, had explained about camp and the wars and exactly what he did in them. Bryce Lawrence...he explained him, too.

It was the only time he had seen her so speechless. Her face was as red as her hair, her mouth was slightly open in shock. Even her wand had dropped from her hands.

"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner..." he looked away. "I didn't want to worry you, didn't want to upset you."

She silently pulled him into a hug, her hands shaking as she latched on to him. Her hair got in his face. "My brave boy..."

Nico leaned into her. "What? I...I just told you I killed someone..."

"To save your friend." she didn't let him go. "You saved her..." She pulled away. "That girl, though...the one that said...that Harry would..."

"Apparently she has good news." Nico let his muscles relax, having expected his mother to blow up with worry. Maybe it was too much, maybe she was still in shock, maybe every thought and feeling of hers was still changing.

"You go and find out." she got up and grabbed a potion. "But you take this first and you take one when you get back."

"You'll really let me go?"

She nodded. "Now go pack your good clothes and your wand, just in case. And that sword you said you have. And brush your hair, I swear it won't ever stay down."

Nico smiled at the familiar orders. "Yes, ma'am." He went to pack a bag, felt his hands continue to shake at the change that would now settle over their family. But was it bad? He felt closer than ever to his mother, felt like he _truly_ had one. She still loved him despite everything he had done, all his evil. She looked at his light, and he guessed that was what mothers were supposed to do.

He grabbed an old bookbag he had brought from camp, packed it with a change of clothes and the sweater he had gotten last Christmas. He wore his robes, after a minute of thought, knowing Mrs. Weasley would be more comfortable seeing him as a wizard rather than a demigod.

He didn't know whether to admit it to himself, whether it was good or bad, but he himself would rather be a wizard, overall. Would rather have that life then that of a demigod. But he was linked between the two worlds whether he liked it or not.

His wand was put in his pocket, his sword hung at his side. His bomber jacket was worn over his robes.

When he finally came downstairs Mrs. Weasley was sitting with her husband at the table, obviously having told him everything. He got up when he saw Nico. "So it's true?"

Nico nodded, stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets. "I can bring you a Muggle phone from New York?"

Mr. Weasley grinned. "That's my boy."

"Stop giving him more tasks." Mrs. Weasley went to Nico and tried to straighten his robes. "_Be __careful_. Send an owl if you need_ anything_. When will you be back?"

"Sometime tomorrow, so don't wait up." he sighed when the Weasley bunch of children walked in the door. "Damn..."

Mrs. Weasley spun around in a fit of rage and stomped over to Ron. "Ronald Bilius Weasley, you knew about all of this and didn't_ think_ to tell me?!"

Ron's face went white as he turned to his brother. "Nico!"

"Percy IM'd me!" Nico defended. "She was right there, I had to tell her. Now, I have to go."

Mrs. Weasley turned back to him. "Remember what I said."

"Be safe, wear nice clothes, send an owl if I need anything." Nico nodded. "I know. Bye, mom." He downed the outstretched potion before disappearing into the shadows, sinking into the familiarity of home. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, going between the worlds. Maybe the shadows were meant to be traveled constantly. Maybe he just wanted an excused to do so.


	3. Chapter 3

Nico stepped out of the shadows in front of the Poseidon table at what appeared to be breakfast time. Percy dropped his fork in surprise before standing up, his green eyes lit up in excitement. "Nico!"

"Percy." Nico crossed his arms as campers looked over. Will wasn't at his table. "You IM'd me when I told you not to."

Percy scratched the back of his neck. "It was important."

"I was with my mother!" Nico stopped for a second, blinked. "You know who I mean! I had to tell her!"

"You should have told her a long time ago." Percy sat back down before picking his fork up again. "And she let you come, obviously."

"She let me come because she's worried about Harry." Nico looked around. "Where's Rachel?"

"Big House."

"Why?"

"She's talking to Chiron."

Nico then noticed the centaur's absence. "About what?"

Percy shrugged. "Something about you."

"Great." Nico ran a hand through his hair before walking away from the table. The youngest campers looked at him as if they thought he was one of the gods.

He was almost out of the Pavilion when a blond Apollo kid walked in front of him, those blue eyes full of innocence. He couldn't have been older than six. "Hades?"

"That's my father, kid." Nico felt his heart drop at the assumption. "Why?"

"Harold, leave him alone." Will was suddenly at the kid's side but his eyes stared into Nico's. "He can't do what you want."

Will looked how Nico remembered, but his eyes were far more tired than usual. His scrub top, his jeans, bandages on his arms. Nico could tell he just came from the infirmary.

"Not many kids ask for Hades." Nico looked away from Will, tried to ignore those beautiful eyes. He kneeled in front of Harold, trying to keep his robes from getting dirty. "What do you want, kid?"

Harold stepped closer to Nico. "You're not Hades?" His voice was filled with disappointment.

Nico shook his head. "He's my dad just like Apollo is yours. Why did you want to see him?"

Harold reached out to touch Nico's robes. "He...he took my mom...and I want her back...I was gonna ask for her back."

"That's why you're here so young..." Nico sighed. "I can't bring her back, kid. Death is death...but I can make sure she's okay, how about that? I can tell her whatever you want."

Harold nodded vigorously. "Please!"

"Okay, tell me what I should say." Nico stood up. "I don't have much time."

"I'll write it down!" Harold ran off toward the Athena table, no doubt to ask for one of them to write it. His little legs didn't take him too quick.

Nico glanced up at Will, tried to think how they got so distant, tried to tell himself that he still shouldn't love him. "I have to talk to Rachel."

"Okay."

Nico scowled. "That's all you have to say?"

Will froze. "Excuse me?"

"We don't talk in months and you don't even try when you see me!" Nico hissed. "What happened to still being friends?"

Will frowned. "You cut me off...said not to IM you...I thought you didn't want to talk to me. There's a reason I stayed away when I heard you were coming."

"I'd never cut you off, I promise." Nico dusted his robes off. "I don't make promises lightly."

"I know." Will reached his arms out. "Can I have a hug?"

Nico hugged him, frowning at the reminder of their age difference. "I've been really busy. I have to talk to Rachel, go find Harold's mother, hurry home... I'll be coming on the weekends, though."

"Percy told me." Will leaned his chin on top of Nico's head. "It'll be good to see you."

"You have studying, though."

"So? I also can visit you." Will pulled away. "You...should probably get going."

"Agreed." Nico waved slightly before walking off, keeping his head bowed to stop himself from looking at Will again. It was hard to keep away, especially after such a short encounter.

He kept wanting to go back, kept wanting to go say more. There was so much to catch Will up on, so much to tell him. But he couldn't. He had stuff to do. And Will...he wasn't his boyfriend.

"Nico!" Rachel waved from the porch of the Big House. "Come here!"

"What do you need?" Nico climbed the steps before sitting on the railing.

"I saw more." Rachel sat next to him. "I don't know why they're showing me...but they are. I saw...I saw Voldemort die."

Nico felt himself sink into relief. "Really?"

She nodded. "But that's as good as the news gets. I also saw a lot of destruction, a lot of death."

Nico let his head fall back. "A real war, huh? Another one."

She nodded. "Another one. Are you going to fight?"

"Of course," he smiled. "How could I not? I'm a demigod. And...and that's my family they're attacking. It isn't just random wizards. It's my family."

"Do you think that's why they did it?" Rachel asked. "Why they actually had you grow up there?"

Nico nodded. "And I'm not gonna fight them about it because by the time I realized, I was already attached."

"Maybe it's for the best." Rachel sighed as she moved some hair behind her ear. "You've had enough wars."

Nico nodded as he watched Harold run up to the Big House. "That's for sure." He looked down at him when he finally stopped. "You got it ready?"

Harold held out a piece of paper. "Here."

Nico put it in his pocket. "Thanks, kid. I've got to go, now."

"Keep in contact," Rachel reminded.

Nico sighed at the familiar demand. "Okay, I will." He stepped back into the shadows, couldn't help but long to be back in the wizarding world already.

Was this how Jason had felt? He grew up Roman, was tricked into the Greeks. Had he also fallen in love with his new life, even though his old still waited for him?

Jason had felt more Greek. Nico had been certain of it. It was the only way he justified his own feelings about the wizards.


	4. Chapter 4

Nico got home well into the next day. He collapsed in the kitchen, falling on the shadow he had appeared out of.

He woke up to Mrs. Weasley standing over him. His vision was fuzzy, there was a lot of warm colors. He could feel a potion down his throat.

In his next haze of sleep he was slightly more conscious. Maybe he shouldn't have shadow traveled so much. Maybe he shouldn't have been Harold's personal messenger three times in a row.

But he was glad he had helped. It was one of the few good things he could do with his demigod abilities.

The next time he opened his eyes, he was alone in his and Ron's room. He went to push himself up, his arms melted into shadow. He fell back with a sigh of disappointment.

If he was back at camp, he would be in the infirmary with Will's presence always nearby. He did miss it, he really did, but he felt safe in his bed, felt safe with his mother nearby.

Nico fell back asleep. His dreams weren't anything specific, not anything he could remember. He woke up in warmth and peace.

Mrs. Weasley was at his side, then, having gone into full mother hen mode. He told her what Rachel had said between potions shoved down his throat.

He was feeling better, more real and whole, but the shadows still beckoned him home.

It was Wednesday when they went by Floo Powder to Diagon Alley. Harry hadn't used it before, that much was obvious, and it was amusing to see him try. Until Harry was missing, however.

"I should have just shadow traveled me and him," Nico hissed to Ron. "It would have been much safer."

"Yeah, until you both melted into a puddle of shadow." Ron pointed to Gringotts. "There!"

"Harry," Mr. Weasley was the first to speak when they reached the young wizard. "We hoped you'd only gone one grate too far... Molly's frantic — she's coming now —"

"Where did you come out?" Ron asked.

"Knockturn Alley," Hagrid answered, Nico just now noticing his presence.

"Excellent!" said Fred and George together.

"We've never been allowed in," Ron explained. "Though Nico snuck in-"

Mrs. Weasley was suddenly upon them, Ginny's hand in her own. "Oh, Harry — oh, my dear — you could have been anywhere—"

Nico watched as she brushed him off and fixed his glasses, his hands deep in his pockets. His fingers still faded in and out.

Hagrid left next, and then Nico was walking into Gringotts with the others. He fingered the key he had made a copy of so both him and Dominic had access.

"Guess who I saw in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asked. "Malfoy and his father."

"Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"No, he was selling —"

"So he's worried," Mr. Weasley cut in. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something…"

"You be careful, Arthur," Mrs. Weasley replied. "That family's trouble. Don't go biting off more than you can chew —"

"So you don't think I'm a match for Lucius Malfoy?" Mr. Weasley saw Hermoine's parents and was at once distracted. "But you're Muggles! We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly, look!"

Nico went to his own vault to get enough money to last the year. If Mrs. Weasley let him, he'd chip in and buy his own supplies. But he wasn't sure if he'd make it very far in that task.

After they had all gotten their money, they separated. Nico followed behind the Golden Trio but didn't listen much to what they were saying. The sun was too bright. Will's face didn't leave his mind.

He didn't meet up with the others to get their books, slipping away as his mind went elsewhere. He bought ice cream, sat at a table and stared at his hand come in and out of shadow, felt himself relax in the wizard setting. He didn't have to worry about monsters. He didn't have to worry about murderous gods.

He got lectured for wandering off, that was for sure, but the fact that he willingly ate was appreciated. That night at dinner, he ate more than he wanted to try and calm his mother down. She had noticed his disappearing hands. She had noticed everything.

"This didn't happen last year." Harry wondered aloud as he looked to Nico, sitting on his makeshift bed in their room. "Your hands...and the shadows...and you're drinking even more potions..."

"I know," Nico grumbled. "I don't know why I'm getting weaker. Demigod powers don't go away with age. They get...oh, so _that's_ it."

"Care to tell us?" Ron looked up at his brother's change of tone.

Nico laid back on his bed, felt dread fill his stomach. "It makes sense, now..." He clenched his fists. "Demigod powers get stronger with age...this is my power getting stronger. It's making me weaker, but my actual power is getting stronger... It's different for children of Hades, I think. Our powers are so dark...it's like they feed off our life source... Our powers would be most strong if we were dead."

"Is there anything you can do?" Harry asked. "Any demigod stuff?"

"Or a potion to stop your power from growing," Ron added. "That has to exist, right?"

"Yeah, maybe." Nico knew the answer was a blunt 'no', but he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell them that. He didn't want them to worry about him, not when Voldemort would soon be taking up their lives. "I'm going to sleep on it."

"You always do that!" Ron argued. "You tell us something weird and go to sleep!"

Nico ignored the statement of truth and clamped his eyes shut. He needed his rest, of that he was certain. But something else was pulling him into sleep.

And so he did. Unconsciousness soon hit him, his mind went blank and dark. Then, before he knew it, he opened his eyes to the haze of a demigod dream. Standing before him, however, was who suspected least.

"Persephone?"

"You never are polite, are you?" she was sitting on a bench under a willow tree, the blue sky something she probably much appreciated. She'd be down in the Underworld in a couple months.

"Not if I can help it." Nico stared at her for some time before blinking. "You're not letting me wake myself up."

"I called you here for a reason, young demigod."

"Then say it." Nico saw her eyes flash in frustration, able to recognize her emotions well by now. "Um...you're actually trying to help me, aren't you?"

Persephone didn't answer but stood up. Dandelions grew at her feet. "Nico, the gods aren't very happy that Hecate sent _you _on this quest."

"I know."

"Zeus is furious that you have more power than his children. But he relented because you need to tame the magic. Your father was reluctant to send you, as was I, because of what you just figured out." Persephone explained. "I couldn't tell you outright, the Fates have it out for you. But now that you know-"

"Wait." Nico held his hand up, not surprised Persephone was the only goddess he dared interrupt. "_You_ were scared to let me go?"

Persephone pursed her lips. "You aren't being as smart as you usually are, young demigod. You're your father's only living son. He takes great pride in you. If you were to die, I'd never hear the end of it."

Nico rolled his eyes. "I see, now."

Persephone looked up at the heavens before sitting back on her bench. "Nico, do you trust me?"

"No, why would I?"

She smiled. "You get many traits from your father, but we don't have much time. So try to keep the rudeness down, please."

"Why do you talk so fondly of him?" Nico asked. "He kidnapped you, didn't he? Tricked you into eating the pomegranate? Forced you to marry him? Fell for my real mother-"

"We do not speak of that woman!" Persephone's eyes flashed in anger before she took in a deep breath. "And the myths get it wrong, I'm afraid. They always make the women out to be clueless."

Nico tilted his head. "You ate the pomegranate on purpose? Why?"

"Now you're thinking," she congratulated. "Though you're the only one to ever believe the truth you finally understood."

"You ate in on purpose...because you secretly loved him?" Nico asked. "You wanted to be with your love, no matter what..." He thought back to Will. "Must feel good."

"Aphrodite sure has her hands full with you." Persephone walked over to Nico. "Boy, you're his only son. You're dying. I've called you here so I can help. Now, do you trust me?"

Nico looked into her eyes again, believed every word she had said. "Yeah, I do."

"You _are_ dying, son of Hades. None of your kind last long. Your powers feed on your life source, try to break it down until you're permanently sealed in your father's kingdom. You need a new life source or you _will_ die."

"What are you thinking?" he asked. None of his instincts told him to split. Nothing in him wanted to leave this place of flowers, the sunny breeze. He saw Persephone for who she really was, ignored the myths for once and looked at what she really felt.

She was going to protect him. He felt as safe with her as he did with Mrs. Weasley.

Persephone put a hand on his forehead, the warmth of her fingers sinking into his skin. It spread through his veins in a blink of an eye. He could feel the way it warmed him.

When she finally pulled away, he could do nothing more than gasp as he finally felt _normal._ He had energy, he had will. He could stand up straight and see his hands and not have to worry about the darkness that constantly called him home.

"What did you do?" he eventually asked. "What was that?"

"My blessing." she smiled as she started to fade. "Use it well, Nico. Stay safe."

And then she was gone, with her the fields and trees. He could focus on the bright sky, could just stare until he felt himself woken up.


	5. Chapter 5

_I am Nico di Angelo, Nico Weasley. I am son of Hades, heir to the Underworld. I am son of Molly and Arthur Weasley. I am son of Maria di Angelo._

_I am blessed by the queen of the Underworld. I have magic in my blood. I control the shadows._

_I fought in the Titan war. I fought on the front lines. I fought in the Giant war. I survived Tartarus. I survived being a prisoner of war._

_I a__m Nico di Angelo. I can do this. The shadows do not control me. I don't need to follow them home._

Nico looked away from the mirror. His eyes had turned as green as the grass. His freckles had turned golden.

_I can do this. I can do this. I am Nico di Angelo. I have the queen of the Underworld behind me._

He looked healthier, almost like a different person. His hair even had some life to it, though it still hung around in long curls.

_I'll just explain...I'll just explain._

His cheek bones were as prominent as his collarbone. The outline of a dandelion was branded into the later.

"Aren't dandelions weeds, not flowers?" he muttered. Just as he did, a sharp pain sparked from the branding.

"Ow, fine, it's a flower." Nico rubbed the angry skin before covering it with his robes. He could at least hide that from Mrs. Weasley. But his eyes, the freckles...

_I survived Tartarus. I can do this._

"Nico, breakfast!"

_Damn._

He exited the bathroom, crept down the stairs. His robes covered his pounding heart but didn't hide his shaking hands.

Nico stepped into the kitchen, the last to get there. Ron was the first to see, then Harry and Molly.

"NICO WEASLEY-"

* * *

It was eventually time for Hogwarts to start. The night before, Mrs. Weasley cooked up a going-away feast. She never stopped hovering over Nico, but she nodded approvingly with each bite he took. He almost looked healthy.

He wasn't sure what Persephone's blessing entailed. All he was sure of was the energy he had and the change of his appearance. He tried to ask Hecate but she stayed silent. Nobody appeared in his dreams.

The next morning they were on their way to King's Cross. Nico didn't bother waiting for Ron or Harry, instead getting on the train as soon as he could to find a compartment. He thought he was going to be away from sight but Hermione soon joined him.

"Nico!" she sat across from him with a book in hand. She was still in muggle clothing. "Where are Ron and Harry?"

Nico shrugged. "They're slow. Give them a minute." He looked out of the window as the train started up. He already missed home. "Hermoine, do you ever get homesick?"

She nodded. "When I was little, not anymore. Though last year I do admit I wasn't used to being away from home for so long."

"Right." he leaned his head on the window's glass. "They should get in here soon."

Hermoine looked down at her book for a minute before looking back up at Nico. "Do you have contacts in?"

"Er, no." Nico didn't look her in the eyes. "They changed color."

"Fascinating!" she leaned forward. "How? Was it a spell or potion? Or was it-"

"Demigod related." he closed his eyes to hide them from view. "I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up if they don't get here soon."

And so she did. Twenty minutes had passed before she shook the dark haired boy awake, her eyes full of worry. "I've looked all over the train. I can't find them _anywhere_."

Nico sat up, quick enough to almost slam his head against hers. "You've looked _everywhere_?"

She nodded. "They couldn't have missed the train, right? They couldn't have been far behind you."

Nico scowled as different thoughts spread through his mind. "They're idiots. Complete idiots. How am I supposed to protect someone that's basically begging for trouble?"

* * *

The trip continued on. Ron nor Harry ever showed up. He eventually went into his own compartment and closed the door. There, he sat on the floor and closed his eyes as he tried to feel where their souls were and how strong they were.

Nico eventually felt them not too far behind the train, both perfectly okay. He let himself relax though he couldn't understand what they were possibly doing.

He opened his eyes and ended the trance, expecting to be exhausted from using his abilities. He was for about a second, then the dandelion burned for about the same time he was in the trance.

_Persephone, what the fuck is this pain for? _He gripped onto his collarbone, it feeling as if someone was holding an iron to it.

_You're smart enough to know you can talk like this to me now, but you can't figure that out?_ Her voice was full of amusement.

Nico loosened his grip as the pain faded. _Why are you in my head? The blessing?_

_Of course._

_Where did Hecate go, then?_

_She's also here, young demigod._

_Great. Now I have two voices in my head. _Nico stretched before sliding into a seat. _Are you going to tell me what that pain's for?_

_You used one of your abilities, _Persephone explained. _You should have been exhausted since they feed on your life source. So you fed on the dandelion's life source. I can't fuel yours but I can fuel its. I am the goddess of flowers, afterall._

Nico's eyes widened. _It's a fucking real flower in me?!_

_Watch your language. And yes, why did you think it was there?_

_How is it living? _Nico looked down at his collarbone. _I'm made of shadows, not sunshine. I'm not Will._

_Your eyes provide the chlorophyll it needs. Some of your veins will act as roots. Spend more time in the sun, Nico._

_I_ _don't want to._

_Y__ou need to. You'll become less pale. Get any paler and you'll be able to see the chlorophyll in your veins._

_T__his is fucked up._

_I__t's keeping you alive._

Nico put his head in his hands before groaning in frustration. _Do you know what Harry and Ron are doing?_

No answer.

_Fine, be that way. _Nico looked out of the train window. _We better get to Hogwarts soon._

He missed it. He missed one of his homes.


	6. Chapter 6

Nico sat at the Hufflepuff table as soon as he got into the Great Hall, watching as Dominic already tried to hang a spoon from his nose. He reminded Nico of Percy sometimes, though what first brought him to Nico's mind First Year was his physical resemblance to Will. Blond hair, blue eyes, a hint of "I want to save the world" in them.

Dominic had started the friendship, that was for sure. If not then it never would've happened. Nico...Nico wasn't one for making friends. He hadn't really ever done it on his own. Percy stuck like glue even when he was pushed away, Hazel was his sister. Jason...Jason stuck in his own way, back then. Then Will...Will would never be just a friend no matter how hard they tried.

The only reason he tried to keep the friendship with Dominic was the fact that he needed someone in the Hufflepuff House. Then...then he just stuck.

Nico slapped Dominic in the back of the head, the spoon falling to the table in a clatter of dishes. "Hey, Fucking Pychic, I have news."

Dominic picked the spoon up before attempting it again. "What's up?"

"Harry and Ron are missing, Ginny's about to get sorted, and I have a dandelion in my collar bone."

The spoon crashed to the table again. "Excuse me?"

Nico sighed as he started to explain. "Ron and Harry missed the train but I felt their souls close behind. You know about Ginny, worried she won't get into Gryffindor cause her whole family did except for me. Then look." Nico moved his robes aside to reveal the dandelion. "Persephone blessed me to help with my energy loss."

Dominic raised an eye brow. "You get a dandelion to help with energy? Well, you seem like you could make a good one."

Nico shuddered as he thought back to the time when him and Persephone were at each others throats. She had turned him into a dandelion when she didn't want to handle it anymore.

The Sorting started soon enough. He gave Ginny an encouraging smile as the hat was placed on her head. Gryffindor was expected and received.

Nico soon felt the death attached to Harry's soul nearby. He still wasn't sure exactly what it was, but it was easy to pinpoint in a crowded room. "They're finally here."

Dominic glanced around. "Where?"

Nico shrugged as he eyed the food. "Dunno."

Dominic filled both of their plates, something Will Solace had often done at camp. It gave Nico a sick feeling inside. Instead of making him fall for Dominic, the similarities just had him missing Will even more.

After they ate, Nico went with Hermoine to look for Harry and Ron.

"_There_ you are! Where have you been? The most ridiculous rumors — someone said you'd been expelled for crashing a flying car!" Hermoine ran up to meet the boys outside the Gryffindor common room, Nico following behind.

"Well, we haven't been expelled," Harry assured her.

"You're not telling me you did fly here?" Hermoine asked.

"Skip the lecture," said Ron impatiently, "and tell us the new password."

"It's 'wattlebird,'" Hermoine replied, "but that's not the point —"

Nico watched the door open. "Don't do anything else stupid. Or at least take me with you next time."

"Nico, not helping." Hermoine snapped.

Nico smiled as he stepped back, melting into the shadows. Ron's expression was worth it.

He appeared on his bed with the pain from his collar bone. _Persephone, was it really necessary to make me a plant?!_

_What else would you have me do? I'm not Zeus._

Nico rolled his eyes before leaning back in bed. He looked over at Dominic, whose eyes were on a Divination book. "You know it doesn't help your psychic stuff to read more about sight seeing."

"And it doesn't help you to shadow travel but you still did." Dominic retorted. "Did you find them?"

Nico nodded. "Idiots flew dad's car here. Didn't get expelled but should've."

"It's good they didn't." Dominic sighed as some hair fell into his face. "Would you give me a hair cut?"

"I'll butcher it, but sure." Nico took his boots off. "Abracadabra some scissors up or something."

As he cut his hair, Nico told him about where he'd be going on weekends. Even the thought of teaching those kids made him sick.

"You're not a kid person." Dominic sat still, his hair falling around them as Nico cut. "It won't go good."

"Trust me, I know." Nico sighed. "Your hair grows fast as fuck."

"I know."

"Why do you always wait to get here to cut it?" Nico asked. "It gets too long."

Dominic's face turned into an expression he only got when talking about the hardships of his home life. Nico was sure he didn't know half of it yet. "My mum won't let me."

Of all things, Nico wasn't expecting that. "What? Why?"

"She wants a daughter." Dominic shrugged. "It doesn't do anything but she still makes me. Says it makes me look more feminine."

"I'm liking your mom less and less." Nico shook his head in exasperation. "What does she do when you come home with it cut?"

Dominic didn't answer. "She can't grow it back."

"Yeah, I guess not." Nico couldn't stop thinking how much his hair looked and felt like Will's. The strands were just the same. "I gave Will a haircut once."

"Yeah?" Dominic picked at his nails.

Nico nodded. "His hair is just like yours. Grows fast, too."

Dominic stared at the pile of hair on the floor. "Hm."

"There." Nico tossed the scissors aside before laying on his bed. "Clean it up."

Dominic felt at his hair. "You _butchered _it!"

Nico grinned. "I told you I would. I don't lie."


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning Nico woke up with his hair a mess and his clothes still on. Dominic's hair was still all over the dormitory floor.

They went down to breakfast half asleep. Neither had slept good though they didn't talk about it. Nico always had nightmares of his own. How could he blame Dominic for having some?

What woke them up, and put a smile on their faces, was the Howler Ron got from his mom. Nico spent the whole time chuckling to himself, unable to help it at the sight of his brother's face.

They got their schedules and started their day. When they got to Herbology, Nico's mandrake didn't kill him (he was expecting death from any kind of plant). Dominic's pink earmuffs made the day even better.

It was later, however, when Nico finally stopped smiling. He joined the group around the Golden Trio as Malfoy continued his usual insults.

"Jealous?" Malfoy was saying. "Of what? I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special, myself."

"Eat slugs, Malfoy." Ron's voice was full of anger. Nico stepped forward incase he needed him.

"Be careful, Weasley," sneered Malfoy. "You don't want to start any trouble or your Mommy'll have to come and take you away from school." He put on a shrill, piercing voice. "'If you put another toe out of line'—"

Nico clenched his fists, stepping in front of Malfoy with a pit of anger in his stomach. _"Don't_ make fun of my family, Malfoy. Do it again and it'll be the last thing you ever do."

Before Nico could do anything else, Lockhart came up and took Harry away. Dominic did the same to Nico before he could punch Malfoy.

Nico let all his anger out that night in the forest, practicing with skeletons and shadows. His collarbone was raw to the touch. He hated Malfoy, hated anyone that made fun of his family.

They took him in. They still loved him despite everything he had done. He would protect them with his dying breath.

When the weekend finally came the anger had died away. Friday after dinner, he packed his bag and shadow traveled to Camp Half-Blood. The dandelion burned but he felt amazing.

None of the senior campers were there. The only ones he knew were Harold and Chiron. Even Dionysius seemed to have something better to do.

Nico walked up to the Apollo table to where Harold sat, his small legs dangling from the bench. "Hey, kid, how have you been?"

Harold stood up on the bench and wrapped his chubby arms around Nico's neck. "You're back!"

"For the weekend." Nico returned the hug for a minute before letting him go. "I'm gonna be teaching you kids how to defend yourselves."

Harold's eyes lit up. "Awesome! Can you take another letter to momma for me?"

Nico sighed at the expected question. "When I leave for the weekend I'll drop it off to her."

Suddenly another kid was at his side, this a small girl around nine. She had her own letter in hand. "Can you take this to my mom?"

In an instant he was surrounded by these kids, some even classified as teenagers. He looked to Chiron for help, but the old centaur couldn't help but laugh at the situation the son of Hades had found himself in.

"Okay, okay!" Nico stood on the table to escape the pit of demigods. "Drop them off in my cabin and go to bed! I'll deliver them!"

After they stampeded away, Nico jogged to Chiron. "Why so many orphans?"

Chiron's smile dropped. "Why do you think?"

"I just...how can so many mortals die at once? It's not like they fought in the war. It's not like they were demigods." Nico reasoned.

"Do you know how many demigods there probably are in the US? Thousands. The Big Three don't have to worry about their children reaching 16 and starting a prophecy. War is everywhere, powering Ares. Even Apollo went through a year or two with hundreds of affairs. They _are_ the Greek gods, Nico. They've always been like this. The kids just never lived long."

Nico looked down at his feet. "Oh..."

"You'll teach lessons starting at eight tomorrow morning." Chiron instructed. "Most of them have no experience. So please be patient with them."

Nico nodded before heading back to his cabin. Once there, he filled a duffle bag with the letters before collapsing on his bed.

Homework, curses, attempted sleep at four in the morning. He kept his wand and robes close.

In the morning he dressed in his robes with his aviator jacket over them. His wand and sword were kept on him as he made his way to the arena.

He hadn't seen Will yet. As he waited for his first class, he watched the early morning sun and tried to imagine how his love was doing in college. Was it easy? Was he failing? Was it too much work?

His many ages twisted around in his gut. Here he was: teacher, student, senior.

The Apollo cabin was first to arrive. Nico met Will's eyes over the kids that settled around him.

"I'll pick them up in an hour. The rest of my cabin have a free hour." Will reached out to touch Nico before quickly taking his hand back. "I've got to go check on the infirmary."

"Yeah, you do." Nico looked at the kids. "Do they know anything yet?"

Will shook his head as he let out a small laugh. "Good luck with them."

Nico grinned. That laugh always filled him with joy. "Thanks."

He stood there staring like an idiot at Will as he walked away. That little sunshine was enough for the whole day.

"Okay, which of you have held a sword before?"

None raised their hands. One was trying to eat his camp shirt.

Nico pinched the bridge of his nose before gesturing to the side. "Get a wooden sword...be careful, please. I don't want to take any of you to the Underworld today."

This silenced all of the kids. There was always that threat around Nico, the knowing of what he was capable of. Instead of working against him, this time it helped him keep those kids under control.

At the end of the weekend he delivered their letters and got some in return. He got back to Hogwarts Sunday night, his fingers burning from helping so many of those kids with their splinters. They were scared of the infirmary, so Nico helped them all after each lesson with an old trick Mrs. Weasley had taught him.

To say the least, Will hadn't known to find it amusing or adorable.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: sorry for the long wait I had to pack and move and unpack and now I have to do it again so there's a lot going on but had some time to sit and write. Also got a new laptop so may be organized enough to start a new fanfic, we'll see. Godbless~**

* * *

Nico finally got out of taking the potions daily as the month went by. He felt great, more energized then he had ever been. That mixed with his ADHD sent him moving around at any chance he could. He tapped his fingers and feet throughout class and got used to the dandelion burning with each ounce of energy he used.

When he visited the Underworld on Fridays and Sundays to continue the letters, he visited his father and Persephone and had dinner with them. Sometimes he played with Cerberus for a good hour.

When Halloween finally hit, he escaped Hogwarts to give the kids at camp a good Halloween. Most ended up sick in bed with stomachaches the next day, but all agreed that it was the most candy they had had in their life. Nico left for Hogwarts before Will could blame him.

When he got back all hell had broken loose. He appeared in his dormitory and didn't even have time before Dominic was in his face, those blue eyes full of curiosity and fear. "Where were you? Camp?"

Nico nodded. "Why are you so close to me?"

"You missed it!" Dominic explained. "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened!"

Nico's great mood dropped. "Excuse me?"

Dominic told him how Mrs. Norris the cat had been petrified and what the writing on the wall had read. Harry was the first at the scene.

"Damn!" Nico ran a hand through his hair.

"So, do you know what it is?" Dominic asked. "The Chamber of Secrets?"

"Judging by the message, something bad." Nico began to pace. "Where's Harry and Ron?"

Dominic shrugged. "I was worried about where you were. Some people are saying that you were the only one in the school not there."

"So?"

"They know you're adopted. Lots of kids just like to talk and blame people and-"

"They blame me?"

"Yeah. And Harry."

"Are they complete idiots?" Nico asked. "Why would Harry and I be against muggle-borns? Have they looked at my family?"

Dominic shrugged again as he laid on his bed. "They like to have someone to blame. But it's probably a Slytherin."

Nico set his bag down before taking his jacket off. "You can't blame a whole house based on someone's actions."

Dominic rolled his eyes before turning on his side. "Nico?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you think you weren't in Slytherin?" Dominic asked. "I mean...you seem like you'd have a whole family of them. Brothers and stuff."

Nico sat on his bed and took in the question for a moment before answering. "I do seem more like a Slytherin. Most people here would agree, anyhow. But...I don't know. I guess the Sorting Hat thinks I'm more loyal."

"Loyal to what?"

"Hell if I know." Nico tossed his boots aside and laid down. As silence fell around them and soon Dominic's breathing turned soft and low, Nico moved a hand to the dandelion on his collarbone and tried not to miss someone. He wasn't sure who, but Will's face filled his dreams for the night.

Or, at least half the night.

His last dream was plunged in darkness of a different kind. It was in Hogwarts, in the halls Nico knew so well, but the feeling of death hung in the air. He stood and watched them carry a girl's body out on a stretcher, her hand hanging off.

He was then thrown to another part of the castle, this time to the Headmaster's office. He saw a boy that looked vaguely familiar.

"Hello?" Nico stepped forward but nobody paid him any attention. "Excuse me-"

_They can't hear you, son of Hades_. Hecate's voice filled the room. _The past can't be changed by a dream._

"Who are they, then?" Nico asked. "What am I supposed to be figuring out?"

_There's a reason I put you in Dominic Cook's mind._ Hecate answered. _His thoughts should give you clues._

Nico rolled his eyes. "Don't tell him that or he'll never stop."

_Son of Hades, pay attention!_

Nico sat up in bed before he could even register that he was awake. The room was silent and dark and the shadows responded, but he couldn't get his breathing under control. If Hecate had been telling the truth...

"Dominic, wake up." he walked over to Dominic's bed and shook him awake. "Get up!"

Dominic sat up quickly, knocking his head against Nico's in a groan of pain. "What?!"

Nico stepped back with a hand to his forehead, scowling at the bruise that began to form. "Why'd you do that?"

Dominic rubbed his own head. "Why'd you wake me up like that? It's your fault."

Nico sat by Dominic on the bed. "Who are your parents?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your parents. Tell me your parents names."

"Sasha Cook... My stepfather is-"

"I don't care about him." Nico snapped. "Tell me your biological father's name."

Dominic blinked. "Oh. Um...Henry, I think. Henry Shultz."

Nico stared at him for a minute before letting out a deep sigh. "Okay...sorry, Dom."

Dominic looked Nico over. "What happened? What are you so worked up about? Didn't you get to sleep?"

"I did," Nico told him his dream, told him what Hecate had said. He didn't leave anything out though he probably should have.

"So she made me become friends with you because she wanted you to what, crush on that boy?" Dominic asked. "Doesn't sound like a divine thought to me. Sounds idiotic."

"Don't call the goddess of magic idiotic..."

"No, listen." Dominic pulled his legs closer. "You said it wasn't Dumbledore talking to him."

"Right..." Nico agreed. "But what does that have to do with Hecate?"

"If it wasn't Dumbledore then he wasn't the Headmaster because they were in that office." Dominic flicked Nico's head. "Why didn't you think of that? It must be from the past or future."

"She wouldn't know the future." Nico waved that possibility aside. "But the past...makes more sense."

Dominic wiped the sleep from his eyes. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say about him. Did she expect me to know him? You don't even know his name."

"Just tell me if you think of something." Nico stalked back to his own bed but had no intention of going back to sleep.

"I have thought of something." Dominic didn't lay down. "Why did you ask about my parents? You still haven't explained that."

Nico laid his arm over his eyes to block out any light that had managed to work its way into the small room. "Dominic...don't think too much about it. You don't think that much about anything else."

"Nico...you're not putting this off. You're telling me." Dominic demanded. "Tell me what's wrong with me."

Nico sat up. "I didn't say anything was wrong with you... I just had a suspicion about your parents. But you proved me wrong so it's fine."

Dominic thought for a minute before scooting back on the bed. "You thought my real dad was a god of yours."

"But he's not," Nico affirmed. "So drop it."

"Who did you think it was?" Dominic asked curiously. "Is there a god of being bi or...?"

Nico couldn't help but crack a smile. "No. Now go to sleep."

"The sun's rising."

"Then get ready for breakfast. It's going to take a few hours for me to warm up to the idea of talking to people today."

"I get that," Dominic admitted. "Harry probably feels the same way."

Nico turned on his side. "Why must both years have to be full of shit like this."

"The price we pay for being wizards in the first place," Dominic answered. "It's good enough for me."

Nico rolled his eyes. "You're too optimistic nowadays."

Dominic shrugged. "Guess so. Or you've just become less optimistic."

Nico sighed but didn't deny the claim. "Get ready for breakfast."


	9. Chapter 9

As soon as morning hit, Nico was shepherded into Dumbledore's office to be questioned on where he was the night before. Not in bed, not in the halls, not in the Great Hall, not with the other students. Filtch stared at him the whole time as if he knew the darkness Nico had done back in the demigod world.

"I would share that answer with you if we were alone, Professor." Nico finally spoke, having been eyeing Filtch with a sense of hatred. "I think that after you hear it, you would think it was best that only you know."

"Very well." Dumbledore got Filtch out of the room and put a silencing charm on the door. After he sat down, he gave Nico a knowing smile. "What is your alibi, young demigod?"

Nico's eyes widened. "You know? Why didn't you tell me First Year? I came to you for help and-"

"Hecate forbad me," Dumbledore explained. "It was up to you to find out. She insisted it be that way."

Nico sat back with folded arms and a low sigh. "So you know of the gods."

Dumbledore nodded. "Do they have to do with where you were Halloween night?"

"Eh, kind of." Nico scratched the back of his head. "There are young kids at camp. One's even six. So I gave them a good Halloween and spent the night kind of and then went to the Underworld and then came here. Dominic told me what had happened when I was gone. Apparently, people are blaming me...I guess that means Filtch, too."

"I'm sure you've learned not to listen to others, son of Hades." Dumbledore leaned forward with his hands folded. "Now, onto other matters."

"There are other matters?" Nico was suddenly paying more attention. "What are they? What else is wrong?"

"As you are aware, Voldemort is rising again." Dumbledore started. "He has two main targets. One is-"

"Harry," Nico cut in. "We all know that."

Dumbledore nodded. "And the second is you. He knows you're here and he knows who you are."

"Damn it..."

"I need you to look out for Harry this year," Dumbledore ordered. "More than you did last year."

Nico winced at the memory of his failure. He had let Harry fight that basilisc alone. "I'll keep him safe. I swear to the gods."

* * *

Nico spent his time glued to Harry and the Gryffindors much to the curiosity of others. He went to his own classes, sure, but made sure to check up on Harry between them. He had made a promise to the gods. He couldn't fail it this time.

"I need to protect him," Nico told Ron when he was questioned. "You know that. And the Chamber being opened..."

Wednesday hit. Nico followed Harry to the library, frowning when Justin Finch-Fletchley basically ran from them after one glance. Harry and Nico always sticking together definitely got the attention of those who blamed them.

"Ignore it." Nico dragged Harry into the library. "He doesn't know any better."

They met up with Ron in the back of the library though Nico could tell what had happened bothered Harry. He wasn't used to being feared, though Nico was.

"I don't believe it, I'm still eight inches short." Ron let his homework go. "And Hermione's done four feet seven inches and her writing's tiny."

"Where is she?" Harry sat by Ron and got his own homework out. Nico stood by them but didn't sit, leaning against the wall.

"Somewhere over there," said Ron, pointing along the shelves. "Looking for another book. I think she's trying to read the whole library before Christmas."

Harry told Ron what had happened with Justin, causing Nico to sigh in frustration. "You shouldn't care, Harry."

"Nico's right," Ron agreed. "Dunno _why_ you care. I thought he was a bit of an idiot. All that junk about Lockhart being so great -"

"All the copies of Hogwarts, A History have been taken out." Hermoine emerged from a line of bookshelves and sat at their table. "And there's a two-week waiting list. I wish I hadn't left my copy at home, but I couldn't fit it in my trunk with all the Lockhart books."

"Why do you want it?" Harry asked.

"The same reason everyone else wants it," Hermoine replied. "To read up on the legend of the Chamber of Secrets."

"And you all still don't know what it is." Nico sighed. "Can't you get somewhat of an idea? It's something to do with Hogwarts that is obviously dangerous to Muggleborns-"

"Hermione, let me read your composition." Ron cut him off without a thought.

"No, I won't." Hermoine insisted. "You've had ten days to finish it -"

"I only need another two inches, come on -"

The bell cut Ron off. He left with Hermoine, leaving Nico to walk with Harry. "Just don't underestimate it, Harry." He tried to warn him. "Even if we don't know exactly what it is yet."

* * *

Nico was talking to Myrtle later that day when the Golden Trio barged in. All four wizards stared at each other in awkward silence before Nico stood up with a clear of his throat. "Well, I'll just be going."

"Oh, Nico, hold on." Hermoine went to Myrtle. "We wanted to ask you if you've seen anything funny lately. Because a cat was attacked right outside your front door on Halloween."

"Did you see anyone near here that night?" Harry asked.

"I wasn't paying attention," said Myrtle dramatically. "Peeves upset me so much I came in here and tried to kill myself. Then, of course, I remembered that I'm - that I'm -"

"Already dead," Ron finished.

Nico elbowed him hard as Myrtle disappeared. "She knows, Ronald."

Hermoine shrugged at Ron and Harry's confusion and disbelief. "Honestly, that was almost cheerful for Myrtle…Come on, let's go."

"What were you three even doing?" Nico asked as he followed them out.

Before any of them could answer, Percy Weasley's voice shouted from nearby. "Ron! Nico! That's a girls' bathroom! What were you —?"

"Just having a look around," Ron shrugged. "Clues, you know —"

"Get away from there." Percy started to shepherd them along. "Don't you care what this looks like? Coming back here while everyone's at dinner —"

"Why shouldn't we be here?" Ron asked. "Listen, we never laid a finger on that cat! Nico wasn't even with us! You can't blame all of us at once, can you?"

"That's what I told Ginny," Percy agreed. "but she still seems to think you're going to be expelled, I've never seen her so upset, crying her eyes out, you might think of her, all the first years are thoroughly overexcited by this business —"

"_You_ don't care about Ginny," Ron retorted. Nico kept quiet but gave Harry a look at the familiar arguing. "You're just worried I'm going to mess up your chances of being Head Boy —"

"Five points from Gryffindor!" Percy cut in. "And I hope it teaches you a lesson! No more detective work, or I'll write to Mum! You too, Nico!"

And then he was gone. Before he could say another word or have to explain why he was talking to Myrtle, Nico went off to his own dormitory. The Golden Trio didn't need to know his thoughts. They didn't need to know how Myrtle died.

But Nico had figured it out.


	10. Chapter 10

"So what are you saying?" Dominic asked. "This isn't making any sense."

"Yes, it is!" Nico looked around the library before lowering his voice again. "But you have to open your mind a little. I'm sorry that Persephone nor Hecate have given me any more clues and I'm basically on my own."

Dominic sighed. "Fine. Explain it again."

"The dream I had about them carrying a dead girl out. It was in the past like you said. So I was thinking about all the ghosts here. The only one that could have been her is Moaning Myrtle. So I went to question her and asked how she died. Used some King of Ghosts stuff, right? She died in that bathroom by seeing some eyes or something." Nico concluded.

Dominic glanced back at his unfinished homework. "How does that connect to the Chamber of Secrets?"

"It connects to my _dream_." Nico corrected. "And I was shown that for a reason."

"Okay, fine, I get that part." Dominic relented. "But I don't get how it connects to the Chamber of Secrets."

"Me neither," Nico admitted. "I thought you would."

Dominic shook his head. "Nope."

"It's not fair." Nico sat back in frustration. "I claim to have all this help from the gods and I can't even figure out what a stupid chamber is."

"You don't have _that_ much help," Dominic muttered. "What? You have a dandelion and what else? Green eyes?"

Nico couldn't help but smile. "Are you hating on green eyes?"

"I actually like green eyes," Dominic admitted. "Didn't your old crush have green eyes? You should like them too."

Nico stared at Dominic, the other boy not noticing his change in attitude. "What?"

"Your old crush," Dominic explained. "You liked Percy, I thought."

"Yeah but I never told you that," Nico grumbled. "Fucking psychic."

Dominic rolled his eyes. "Sorry."

"I just...don't like him anymore," Nico explained. "And I did a lot of stupid stuff because I thought I loved him."

"But you didn't?" Dominic asked.

Nico shook his head. "I've only ever loved Will."

"And you still do?"

Nico stared at his untouched homework. "Yeah."

* * *

Nico sat in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom with the Golden Trio, him and Ron both having ignored their brother's warning about it. He let them search the book for the potion they were trying to find, his mind on other things.

_Persephone? You there?_

_What is it, son of Hades?_

Nico grinned at the answer, still finding relief every time one of the goddesses decided to speak to him._ I had a question that Hecate won't bother answering._

_Go ahead and ask._ Persephone answered, humor in her voice. _Though I can't promise that I can answer it._

_Growing up, I couldn't read English here just as it was in the demigod world._ Nico started. _But then when I figured out I was a demigod and stuff I could read it. Do you know why? I need to know if it's going to go away._

_I don't know why she waited to give it to you, but Hecate may have taken away your dyslexia for the quest._ Persephone answered, sounding curious. _It's odd. Can you read English when you visit your father and me?_

Nico shrugged. _Haven't tried it._

_Try it next time so you know if it's secluded to just the wizarding world._ Persephone advised. Y_ou need to know of your abilities if this will turn into a full war._

Nico nodded slightly. _Yeah, okay._

"Here it is," Hermoine's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "This is the most complicated potion I've ever seen. Lacewing flies, leeches, fluxweed, and knotgrass. Well, they're easy enough, they're in the student store-cupboard, we can help ourselves…Oooh, look, powdered horn of a bicorn — don't know where we're going to get that — shredded skin of a boomslang — that'll be tricky, too and of course a bit of whoever we want to change into."

"Excuse me?" said Ron sharply. "What d'you mean, a bit of whoever we're changing into? I'm drinking nothing with Crabbe's toenails in it —"

"We don't have to worry about that yet, though, because we add those bits last…" Hermoine continued, reading over the potion. Ron gave Nico a worried look, causing Nico to snicker.

"D'you realize how much we're going to have to steal, Hermione? Shredded skin of a boomslang, that's definitely not in the students' cupboard. What're we going to do, break into Snape's private stores? I don't know if this is a good idea…" Harry asked.

"Well, if you two are going to chicken out, fine," Hermoine said. "I don't want to break rules, you know. I think threatening Muggle-borns is far worse than brewing up a difficult potion. But if you don't want to find out if it's Malfoy, I'll go straight to Madam Pince now and hand the book back in."

"Two? What about Nico?" Ron asked.

"I'm not doing it." Nico cut in. "I already talked to Hermoine. Who knows what that thing will do to a demigod. I'm here for emotional support."

Ron shook his head before looking to Hermoine. "I never thought I'd see the day when you'd be persuading us to break rules. All right, we'll do it. But not toenails, okay?"

"How long will it take to make, anyway?" Harry asked.

"Well, since the fluxweed has got to be picked at the full moon and the lacewings have got to be stewed for twenty-one days…I'd say it'd be ready in about a month, if we can get all the ingredients." Hermoine answered, causing all three boys to look at her in exasperation.

"A _month_?" Ron asked. "Malfoy could have attacked half the Muggle-borns in the school by then! But it's the best plan we've got, so full steam ahead, I say."

Nico sat back again as they bickered on and took a notebook out of his bag. Every day he worked on his outline for training those kids, but they never seemed to learn.

* * *

Nico watched as Will brought his cabin up. That blond hair, the blue eyes. Nico loved every bit of him. It only got stronger as he got closer.

"Hey," Will greeted, his hands deep in his pockets as he stopped in front of Nico. "I...um...how's school?"

"Stressful." Nico's fingers twitched as he fought to keep his arms at his sides. "What about college?"

"Stressful." Will grinned down at him. "Can I have a hug?"

Nico basically jumped into Will's arms after the request, hugging his ex-boyfriend tight against himself. His face grew red with blush but he didn't dare stop. Not when it would be another week before he saw him next.

Will kept him close in silence for some time before pulling away, causing Nico to frown in disappointment. "You've got to get teaching."

"What's the point?" Nico grumbled. "They refuse to learn anything. They don't really get how much they're going to be attacked."

"I talked to them." Will looked over at the kids who were busy wrestling amongst themselves. "Hopefully they should be better today. If not, threaten to stop taking their letters to the Underworld."

"Yeah, okay." Nico didn't let go of Will's arms. "Do you have to get going?"

Will nodded. "The Infirmary needs me."

He still didn't let go. "Okay."

Silence. The smell of strawberries.

"Nico?"

"Yeah?"

"You need to let me go."

"Right, sorry."


	11. Chapter 11

Nico was about to leave for Hogwarts Sunday afternoon, not knowing yet about the other attack that had plagued the school. But he stopped quickly when he saw Will approaching, saw those blue eyes full of worry. "Will? What's wrong?"

"I'm glad I caught you in time." Will grabbed Nico's hand as if he was scared he was going to run off. "We need to talk. I had a dream-"

"A dream? And you didn't tell me this morning when you woke up from it?" Nico asked.

"I was too busy." Will defended. "You know the Infirmary's been crazy all day. This is my first break."

"Okay, tell me." Nico sighed. "But I have to go so hurry it up."

Will looked around to make sure they were alone before lowering his voice. "I think it was dad talking to me."

Nico blinked twice before frowning. "What?" Sure, he had Persephone and Hecate in his head, but gods still rarely talked to their children directly. It was a fact that all demigods learned the hard way.

"It was dad," Will continued. "Or I think it was. He sounded like him but I didn't really see him. It was just his voice."

"Okay," Nico accepted. "What did he say?"

"He gave me a quest."

"Are you kidding me?" Nico looked up at the sky with a scowl as if he could catch a glimpse of the sun god. "Doesn't he know you have college?"

"Yeah, but that isn't really an important thing to the gods." Will wrapped an arm around Nico's shoulders and pulled the younger boy closer. "It's freezing. Help keep me warm."

"You're the one that came out here without a jacket." Nico didn't pull away. It almost felt like old times. "Have you talked to Chiron?"

Will shook his head. "Not yet. I wanted to catch you before you left."

"You need to go to Chiron." Nico thought for a minute before starting for the Big House, Will following while refusing to let go of Nico. "Come on."

"Don't you have to go back to Hogwarts?" Will asked. "I don't want you to get in trouble."

"It'll be fine." Nico insisted. "I may be a wizard but I'm also a demigod. And you got a quest. So I'm here to help."

Will's smile sent warmth through Nico's cold bones. "Okay."

* * *

"We already know — we heard Professor McGonagall telling Professor Flitwick this morning. That's why we decided we'd better get going —"

Nico cut Hermoine off as he stepped from the shadows, his eyes raw from lack of sleep. "I don't know."

"Nico!" Ron turned to face him. "You scared us!"

"Yeah, yeah, now, what happened?" Nico asked, eyeing the cauldron. "Another attack?"

Harry nodded before telling him the story of the night before. Dobby, Colin, the Quidditch game. Nico listened silently before looking back to the potion. "How's it coming? The sooner you can use it, the better."

"Wish Dobby'd told you what kind of monster's in there, though." Ron thought out loud, ignoring Nico's question. "I want to know how come nobody's noticed it sneaking around the school."

"Maybe it can make itself invisible." Hermoine stirred the potion. "Or maybe it can disguise itself — pretend to be a suit of armor or something — I've read about Chameleon Ghouls —"

"You read too much, Hermione," Ron commented as he helped with the potion.

She ignored him but rather looked to Nico. "Are you just getting back?"

Nico nodded. "There's some stuff going on at camp. I had to fill my role as Head Counselor."

Hermoine always had interest in demigod affairs even though it had become a normal thing to talk about to Ron and Harry. She leaned forward, her eyes off the potion. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah...it'll be fine." Nico bit his lip. "Will had to go on a quest. He took two other demigods but..." He trailed off.

"You're still worried." Hermoine finished.

Nico nodded. "Yeah...I'm still worried."

"Do you know what the quest is for?" she asked. "Is it dangerous?"

"His father sent him to England without a prophecy," Nico grumbled. "Seems fishy to me. And all he said was 'you'll see when you get there'."

"That's not really helpfu,." Hermoine commented.

"The gods never are."


	12. Chapter 12

December came around. The potion continued to be made, Nico continued to teach the kids how to fight, Will continued a quest Nico knew nothing of. The only way he knew he was alive was feeling his soul, as bright as ever. There was no communication.

He signed the list to stay at Christmas, Dominic and the Golden Trio doing the same. If Harry stayed, Nico stayed. He wasn't going to leave him alone for so long.

He skipped out on the dueling club and anything of the sorts, his mind too busy thinking about what Will was doing. What could Apollo possibly be having him do in London? Nico couldn't think of one good reason.

He did hear about what happened, however, and Harry's "attack on Justin". He questioned Ron about it soon enough and got the full story of what Harry was trying to do. He hadn't even known he was a Parseltongue.

Then Justin got petrified.

Maybe it was the loyalty the Hat had seen, maybe it was because the attack felt too close to home. But now that a Hufflepuff in his year went down, Nico was _pissed_. He went to Dumbledore, but the old wizard himself wasn't sure who it was doing the attacks. If he had told Nico the real culprit, Nico was angry enough to drag them down to his father.

"Save all that energy for when you find the guy." Dominic insisted one night. "I'm as angry as you but you can't just stomp around."

Nico crossed his arms before sitting on his bed. "I feel like I can't even go to camp to-"

"Go to camp." Dominic cut in. "You can't just stop living. That's what the heir is trying to do. That's what all people are trying to do when they attack others. They want to cause panic. They want to control you. So go to camp and teach those kids and try to check on Will."

Nico ground his teeth together. "And if something happens to Harry and he's all alone..."

"He's survived this long, hasn't he?" Dominic asked. "You need to have more faith in him, I swear."

"Fine, whatever." Nico gave in. "But only on the weekends like usual."

"Good, now shadow travel me to Diagon Alley," Dominic commanded. "We need to go Christmas shopping."

Nico sighed but gave in.

* * *

As soon as they finished wrapping their gifts, Nico was brought to Dumbledore's office for an "important meeting". The whole way, all he could worry about was that he let Harry out of his sight for too long. What he wasn't expecting when he walked in there, however, was to see Will standing by the Headmaster's desk.

"William!" Nico was in the son of Apollo's arms before anyone could blink. "Where the hell have you been?!"

"Language, Neeks." Will let his chin rest on the top of Nico's dark curls. "And I'm okay."

"But where have you been?" Nico demanded. "I've been worried sick. Even Rachel didn't know where you were."

"That's because my quest tied into wizard stuff." Will looked around to make sure they were alone before kissing the top of Nico's head. "But I'm okay so relax."

"Relax? You haven't even IM'd me." Nico let him go to cross his arms. "Where have you been? Tell me. And why are you here?"

Will held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. So I've been in London, right? Almost immediately we ran into monsters. But sometimes the monsters weren't going after us."

"Then what were they going after?" Nico asked.

"Other demigods." Will lowered his hands. "It seems for some reason, some of the gods had affairs over here or shipped their kids here or something. But there are demigods in Europe."

Nico held a hand to his head. "Why do they have to put us in these situations?" Will went to answer but Nico held his hand up. "Rhetorical, Will."

Will pouted. "And yet you ask it so seriously..."

Nico let himself smile. "Just keep telling your story."

Will grinned back at him. "So we found some. Dumbledore is letting them stay here until you can shadow travel them to camp."

Nico nodded in acceptance. "Where are the other two campers that went with you?"

Will's expression dropped. "They...they both didn't make it very long. The monsters..." He looked away as darkness crossed his face. "None of us were good fighters. That's why I came here for refuge."

Nico rubbed Will's arm. "At least you're safe now. Come on, let me show you around. You can meet my friends."

Will looked over at him. "Won't people get suspicious?"

"Barely anyone is here." Nico shrugged. "It's Christmas Eve. If anyone asks, I'll just say you're a family friend. I'll have Ron back me up."

"Ron...that's your brother?"

Nico nodded. "Come on."


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Ron may be a little OOC, but I feel his family is close enough that he would stick up for Nico when he felt he needed it. Thank you all for the reviews and I'm really glad you're enjoying it so far~**

* * *

Nico went to Myrtle's bathroom first, thankful to find the Golden Trio finishing up there for the night.

"What are we doing in a girl's bathroom?" Will asked. "Just because you're gay-"

"Ron." Nico knocked on the stall door before opening it. "Look who's here for you to meet."

"Who's he?" Ron asked, barely looking up from the potion. But Hermione stood up as soon as she saw him.

"Will?" she asked. "This is Will?"

Nico nodded. "Will, this is Hermoine, one of my friends."

"Nice to meet you." Will dropped his questions about the bathroom as he shook Hermoine's hand. "I'm glad to see Nico's actually making friends and not lying to me."

Nico groaned at Hermoine's interested look. "Does he not make friends often?" she asked. "Like, before his wizard life?"

"That's not important." Nico cut in. "Will, the one with the glasses is Harry. The other is Ron."

"Nice to meet you," Harry shook Will's hand. "We've heard a lot about you."

Will grinned. "I would hope so." He turned to Ron. "You're his brother?"

"Yeah, so?" Ron didn't seem humored at all. "And you're the ex-boyfriend?"

Nico froze. "Ron..."

"No, it's okay." Will laughed nervously. "Um...yeah, I am."

"And you broke up with him." Ron continued. "You broke up with my little brother."

"We're the same age," Nico grumbled.

"If I hadn't, it would have been pedophilia." Will defended. "I didn't hurt him on purpose, you know. I love him."

"Will, what are you doing here?" Hermoine broke in, getting a thankful look from both Harry and Nico. "Aren't you just a demigod, not a wizard?"

"Um, yeah. I'm actually here because Dumbledore's helping me out on my quest." Will explained. "Monsters can't get onto Hogwarts grounds."

"Oh, that's interesting." Hermoine leaned forward. "So do all demigods attract monsters? Is it their blood?"

"We smell like food." Nico stepped out of the small stall. "Now, I'm too crowded. Let's go to your common room or something."

They all agreed. As they walked, Will and Hermoine led as he explained more of the demigod world to her. Nico kept to the back with Harry and Ron, his hands in his pockets as he looked Ron over. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" he asked. "I didn't do anything."

Harry couldn't drop his smile. "I think he was defending his brother."

"Was not!" Ron defended. He kept on it for the rest of the night, but Nico couldn't help but be happy about what had happened. Sure, Ron and Will weren't getting along yet, but his brother was truly acting like a brother.

After dropping them off in the Gryffindor common room, Nico went to his own to get Dominic. He found his old friend laying in bed, reading another book on Divination that he didn't need.

"Get up." Nico pulled his blanket off and dropped it to the floor. "I have someone for you to meet."

Dominic raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Just come on." Nico pulled him up. "Please? I want you to meet him."

Dominic's eyes widened. "You only talk like that about one person...why is Will here?"

"Long story." Nico pulled him out. "But he's here until I can shadow travel him to camp and I want you to meet him. I left him in the Gryffindor common room with the others."

"That's insane." Dominic stumbled after him. "Stop walking so fast."

"I'm excited." Nico defended. "He's here, Dom. He's here. You get to meet him. I want my best friend to meet my lover-...my, uh..." He stopped walking in the middle of the cold corridor. "Uh..."

"He was your lover at one point." Dominic led him along again. "Come on, I'll meet him. Maybe he'll stay to spend Christmas with you."

Nico would have loved that, but both he and Will knew it wouldn't be. Will was still on a quest. He still had work to do. He shouldn't even be wasting time meeting everyone, but that was something they could fit in.

When he got to the Gryffindor common room, Hermoine was sitting by Will on the couch, spitting out multiple questions at a time. Will did his best to answer, but when Nico came in his face broke out in relief. "Neeks!"

"Hey," Nico gestured to Dominic. "This is Dominic. He's in Hufflepuff with me, you know."

Will got up and shook his hand though his face had grown serious. "Dominic, what's your last name?"

"Cook," Dominic answered. "And yes, Nico grilled me about my family. No gods."

Will grinned. "You knew exactly what I was thinking."

Nico looked between the two, noticing the similarities immediately. So did the Golden Trio.

"No wonder you became friends with him," Ron put out. "He's exactly like Will. That's the secret to getting you to make friends."

"I'm not friends with him because of that." Nico rejected. "Shut up."

"Apparently one of the gods made us friends," Dominic added. "Hecate, right?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah, Will...I have a lot to fill you in on. I didn't have any way to contact you so I couldn't tell you before. But now I can if you want to go talk."

Will nodded in agreement. "Yes, please. Then we can get going. It's getting late."

Hermoine stood up. "But I have so many questions that Nico doesn't answer...can I send you letters?"

Will nodded. "Course. Just send them to camp. Nico should have the address."

Nico led him out of the room before anyone else could object. Before long, they were in Myrtle's bathroom sitting across from each other, the poor ghost girl not too far away, listening in.

"Did you like them?" Nico asked. "My friends, I mean."

Will reached out to hold Nico's hand. "Of course I did. I think they're good for you. Though Dominic...are you sure...he's..."

"I know." Nico sighed. "I thought he was, too. But he knows both his biological parents by name. And he's never mentioned being attacked by a monster before."

"I guess you're right," Will replied. "But keep an eye out for it, okay?"

Nico nodded. "I was already going to..." Silence. "Um...I'm sorry that Ron was a jerk to you."

"It's okay," Will assured. "I don't mind."

"You sure?" Nico asked. "I didn't want you to be uncomfortable or anything..."

"I was fine, Neeks." Will rubbed Nico's pale hand with his thumb. "We should be getting to camp soon...those kids need somewhere safe. They need to know they have a home. They're probably so upset right now..."

Nico nodded in agreement. "Okay, we can get going. But I need to update you on my quest, I'll be fast. I've had dreams about a man that I'm supposed to know. And apparently Hecate made me become friends with Dominic, apparently, he's supposed to help somehow. And something's happening here at Hogwarts. Kids are getting attacked by something. And the monster isn't Greek or Roman. It's something in this world."

Will frowned. "Damn...should we even be wandering around, then?"

Nico waved the question aside. "We're fine. But I'm worried about Harry. I have to protect him but I don't even know what I'm protecting him from."

"You'll be fine." Will patted Nico's shoulder. "You always figure it out. Just relax and think, okay?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah...I guess so." He stood up and stretched his arms. "Come on, we need to get going. As you said, those kids should be in camp."

Will also stood up. "Thank you for showing me your friends, Nico. And this place...I see why you love it."

Nico's heart fluttered in his chest as he looked into Will's eyes. "You're welcome."


	14. Chapter 14

The two demigods Will had found were both born and raised in London but had their fair share of monster experiences. It didn't take long to convince them of their divine ancestry. Nico met them once but not for long.

Noah Anderson had some American blood but knew only of Britain. Curly hair, a spark in his eyes. He reminded Nico too much of Leo Valdez. At eleven, he already stood taller than Nico.

Kenny was younger and never knew his last name. Will found him going through a garbage can. Blond hair, blue eyes. Nico spotted Athena in him. Who else so young had survived on the streets so well?

Nico introduced himself to both before immediately warning them of the dangers of shadow travel. Overall, just don't let go. They didn't believe him until they experienced how terrifying shadow travel can be.

As soon as they were safely at Camp Half-Blood, Nico left for Hogwarts again. He was in a hurry, sure, but for a reason he never would have had as a demigod. Family. He wanted to be with his family for Christmas.

And he was. Christmas morning, he woke up to Dominic dropping a present on his stomach. "Merry Christmas."

"What time is it?" Nico squinted his eyes against the sunlight before sitting up. "Why are you up so early?"

"They're planning on doing that potion later tonight," Dominic explained. "So let's do gifts and relax before you go all crazy trying to protect them."

Nico looked down at the present now in his lap. "What'd you get me?"

"You're going to have to open it and see, aren't you?" Dominic moved toward his own bed. "Where's the one you got me?"

Nico reached under his bed and pulled out the wrapped box before tossing it to Dominic. "Here, go crazy."

Dominic didn't waste any time opening it. Inside, he pulled out a leather bound book. "What's this?"

Nico played with the wrapping on his own present. "Rachel wrote some stuff down that you won't find in any Divination books here...since you're running out of them. It should keep you occupied for a couple days of free time."

Dominic grinned. "Thanks. Now open yours."

Nico did as he was told, opening the box to find some kind of phone, or what he thought was one. It had been awhile since he had been to a demigod-free, muggle place. "And this is...?"

"A phone. And headphones." Dominic reached into the box and pulled them out for him. "While you're at Hogwarts monsters can't attack you, so you can use it here. You can talk to people on it and listen to music and stuff."

"Who would I talk to?"

Dominic pulled his own phone from his pocket. "Getting you one gave me the excuse to get one. In August I got some money out of the vault and changed it into muggle money then brought it to London."

Nico started to smile as he looked the phone over. "Show me how to use it."

* * *

Nico stood outside the Slytherin common room, hidden in the shadows. He was there to listen out for Harry and Ron, who had finally used the Polyjuice potion to infiltrate. When they ran out, he didn't have any time to ask questions but ran after them.

"Well, it wasn't a complete waste of time," Ron panted as they got to Myrtle's bathroom. "I know we still haven't found out who's doing the attacks, but I'm going to write to Dad tomorrow and tell him to check under the Malfoys' drawing room."

Nico looked at Ron in confusion. "What?"

"Malfoy's not the heir." Harry knocked on the stall door. "Hermione, come out, we've got loads to tell you -"

"Go away!" Hermione squeaked.

"What's the matter?" Ron asked. "You must be back to normal by now, we are."

Moaning Myrtle came through the stall door, actually looking happy. "Oooooh, wait till you see," she said. "It's awful -" With one nasty look from Nico, she disappeared. Being the Ghost King had its perks.

Hermoine came out then, looking like a transformation gone wrong. Ron backed up and fell into the sinks.

"It was a cat hair!" she howled. "Millicent Bulstrode must have a cat! And the potion isn't supposed to be used for animal transformations!"

Nico looked her over after feeling her life force. "You're lucky it didn't kill you."

"It's okay, Hermione," Harry added. "We'll take you up to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey never asks too many questions… And she knows Nico and me by now..."

They finally got her to the hospital wing, Nico keeping her hidden in the shadows as they went so nobody could see. If they had, she'd never hear the end of it.

She stayed there for the rest of Christmas break. As the last days before classes rolled around, Nico spent the time on his phone. Whenever he needed to charge it or Dominic's, he shadow traveled it to somewhere with electricity and left it until it was charged. Music had become his number one pastime.

On the weekends, he went back to camp to teach the kids. They had gotten rather far and could use actual swords without killing themselves, but they still had a lot to learn. Before long, Will had gone back to London with two more demigods to accompany him. From then on out, Nico took two times a day to feel for Will's soul, making sure he was okay. As he had said, he wasn't much of a fighter.

But soon Christmas break was over, classes were beginning, and Nico hadn't gotten any news from him. Maybe he had to get used to being a worrier.


	15. Chapter 15

January was a constant headache. Whenever he was around Harry, Nico seemed to get an even worse headache then he usually did. It wasn't just that scar radiating death anymore, it was something else. Nico finally cornered him about it, making sure they were alone before putting a silencing charm on the door.

"What do you have?" Nico asked, a hand to his head as the dandelion pulsated with the pains.

"What do you mean?" Harry grabbed his bag before pulling out a small black book. "You mean this?"

Nico could tell that it was the source immediately. "Why the _hell_ do you have that?"

"Someone threw it at Myrtle." Harry held it out so Nico could look at it. "Ron and I have searched all in it. Nothing's written in it."

"Then why did you feel the need to keep it?" Nico refused to touch it.

"It could be a clue." Harry reasoned. "T. M. Riddle went to this school fifty years ago. It's his diary. Fifty years ago is when the chamber was last opened. It can't be a coincidence, can it?"

"No, I guess not." Nico reached for the book. "Can I?"

Harry handed it over. As soon as it touched Nico's hands, they turned into shadow and it fell through, slamming against the ground.

"Nico!" Harry stepped forward as if he could somehow protect the son of Hades. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Nico drew his hands close to him as they reformed. "Get rid of that thing, Harry."

"But-"

"Get rid of it." Nico's heart was in his stomach. "I think I know what it is. And if it is that...you shouldn't have it near you. At least don't carry it on you."

"What do you think it is?" Harry asked.

Nico ignored the question. "Just don't carry it on you anymore. Please?"

Harry reluctantly agreed. "But do you have any idea who T. M. Riddle is?"

Nico shook his head. "Just get that thing back to your dormitory. It's giving me a headache."

"Yeah, okay." Harry bent down to pick the book up. "Um...Nico?"

"What?"

"Are we going to tell Ron about this?"

"Nope." Nico dug his hands into his pockets, them still tingling from the death in that diary. "Now let's hurry and get you back to your dormitory before he notices."

Harry agreed and they were off. Once he had gone into the Gryffindor common room, Nico left him and went back to his own common room. He felt for Will's soul, and once knowing that he was alive and healthy, went to bed.

* * *

After Hermoine got out of the hospital wing, they went back to trying to find out who Riddle was. Ron showed him where he first saw the name, on an old shield that he had been forced to clean.

"He sounds like Percy," said Ron, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Prefect, Head Boy…probably top of every class —"

Prefect... Nico snapped his head up to attention._ Hecate-!_

_Yes, young demigod?_ He could hear her smirk.

_That boy I saw in my dream, he was a prefect. He just looked like it. As Ron said, he was like Percy. Is he...was that T. M. Riddle?_

_What a clever boy._ Hecate mused. _No wonder we picked you for the job._

_What do I need to know about him?_

No answer.

He didn't tell the Golden Trio, but he did tell Dominic later that night.

"T. M. Riddle..." Dominic shrugged. "I have no idea who that is." He laid back in his bed, grabbing his phone to scroll through his music.

"He was here when the chamber was opened... If he's dead, I can talk to him." Nico voiced his thoughts out loud. "I could try when I'm delivering the kids' letters."

"It's worth a try." Dominic plugged his headphones in. "I'm going to bed."

Nico rolled his eyes. "The gods said you're supposed to know this stuff."

"How?" Dominic groaned in frustration. "I'm muggle-born! As far as I know, there's no godly blood in my family tree! There's nothing special about me or Tom or anyone else in this equation so just...drop it."

Nico's eyes widened at the outburst but his mind remained on one thing. "Dom...who's Tom?"

"What?" Dominic turned on his side.

"Tom. You said "me or Tom"." Nico stood up. "Tom... T. M. Riddle... Dominic, you're a life-saver." He threw his jacket on. "I've got to get to the library."

Dominic laid there with a shocked expression. "Nico...I don't know where that came from..."

"Yeah, I know, we'll talk about it later, Will." Nico went to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek before realizing that it wasn't his boyfriend at all. "Oh, shit, sorry!"

"Ew!" Dominic pushed himself away from his best friend. "Don't kiss me!"

"I thought you were Will." Nico defended, thankful his lips never touched that cheek though they almost had. "You were talking like Will and he figures things out like that and your voices are similar now that your's is getting deeper."

Dominic shuttered before going to the bathroom. "I need to disinfect myself!"

Nico headed for another bathroom. "I'm way ahead of you!"


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Honestly yeah technology might not work at Hogwarts but lets say for the sake of this story it does because...well, it's fanfiction and it's not that big of a thing...(and I'm just too lazy to change it)**

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, Nico and Dominic sat five feet apart at the Hufflepuff table. Nico still gave out heir of Slytherin vibes, leaving no one to sit between them. For the first ten minutes, it was silent.

"Are you going to scootch over here?" Nico finally asked. "I can't talk to you when you're that far."

Dominic shook his head. "I'm still getting your germs off me."

"I didn't even kiss you!" Nico groaned in frustration. "I got like two inches too close!"

"We use the metric system, Nico." Dominic dug into his cereal. "And I'm not letting it happen again."

"It was a mistake, Dom. I'm sorry. For some reason my mind...I just thought you were Will." Nico tried to explain. "You look similiar...and talk similiar...and I'm worried about him so I'm thinking about him more."

Dominic moved an inch closer but still remained at a distance. "Is he still in London?"

"As far as I know." Nico rubbed his tired eyes. "Did you have nightmares last night?"

Dominic nodded. "And you?"

"Like always."

* * *

Valentine's day hit and Nico wanted to strangle anyone he saw. Pink was too bright, the red looked too much like blood. Throughout the whole day, he kept five feet away from Dominic. There were too many times he thought that boy was Will. Almost like his mind was slipping, he would mistake him for him almost every day.

"Aren't you going to send a valentine?" Ron teased. "You've got to if you've kissed him, don't you?"

It was all fun and games throughout the day for those who had the will to make it so. But Nico couldn't go anywhere near Harry without a splitting headache, and by lunchtime, he had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Later that night, he found out exactly what was wrong.

"Wait, explain it again." Nico sat on Ron's bed, having put a silencing charm on the door so no other boys could overhear. Harry was sitting on his own bed, his eyes lit with...with something.

"It's Hagrid," he repeated. "He opened the Chamber of Secrets."

"You two are insane." Nico put his head in his hands. "You're trusting Tom Riddle, a boy from fifty years ago, over Hagrid."

"_You're_ from fifty years ago," Ron inputted.

"More than that but that doesn't matter." Nico went over to where Harry had the diary. "That thing needs to be destroyed."

"We can't destroy it," Harry argued. "It's got clues in it. Tom Riddle, he showed me who did it. He's showing me how to help."

"You really think he's doing it just to help?" Nico asked. "He's a boy from fifty years ago. He would have no need to help...he shouldn't even be able to help!"

"But he did." Harry put the diary in his bag. "We'll ask Hermoine tomorrow. It's getting late."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Whatever. But we're destroying that thing. It's full of death, Harry."

"You feel death wherever you go," Ron spoke up. "You know you do, Nico. Even at Diagon Alley, you did!"

"It was more in Knockturn Alley, Ronald." Nico stood up. "I'm going to my dormitory. Just...don't do anything else dangerous throughout the night."

He went to bed but the feeling of dread never left him. Halfway through the night, he dreamt of the same field of flowers Persephone had come to him in last.

"Persephone?" Nico looked around, touching his collarbone. "What's wrong?"

Persephone appeared before him, eyes trained on him. "Nico...there's a lot going on right now. Too much. I've come to help you. Even just to make sense of what you already know."

"And you're doing this...why?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be busy doing something else? Spring's gonna be coming."

"And your father is worried about you." she sat down, the flowers growing even more at her touch. "Sit, there's much to discuss."

Nico sat across from her. "Have you been watching?"

She nodded. "All the time. You're the only young hero I have out on a quest, you know. And I don't have any demigod children."

"Do you have _any_ kids?" Nico asked, smirking.

"Nico, don't test me," she snapped. "You've met one and know of the other."

"Okay, okay, fine." he held his hands up in surrender. "Now, talk to me. Tell me what I need to know."

"I can't tell you everything, Nico. This is a _quest_." she played with one of the flowers beside her. "But as it's such a long and complicated one, Hecate has allowed me to help more than I would have originally been able to."

"Okay..."

"Your main goal has always been to help Harry Potter," she began. "To help him survive long enough for the final battle against Voldemort."

"And I've been trying," Nico said. "I've been trying hard. But he's like Percy. He's a trouble magnet."

"Your father would definitely agree," Persephone admitted with a sigh. "But that's not important. That's not the only factor in this quest. As you've been noticing, there are some odd things happening."

"Odd things? You mean the Chamber of Secrets?" Nico asked.

"And other things." she leaned forward. "Don't underestimate this Chamber of Secrets. It holds something that was used to kill innocents. Don't forget that."

Nico's good mood dropped. "Do you know what the monster is?"

"I can't say, but you'll be able to figure it out if you try." she smiled. "I know you can. You're smart. And you can read English, now. You have access to that whole library."

Nico nodded in acceptance. "Okay...so I'm protecting Harry, figuring out who this monster is... Does it have to do with Tom Riddle? Was Dominic right about his first name being Tom?"

"Unfortunately, he was correct." Persephone's eyes darkened. "Listen to me, Nico. Tom Riddle is known by older wizards by his original name. But you know him by something else. And you need to be careful about throwing his name around. And you need to be careful with that diary of his."

"Someone I know...?" Nico looked at her helplessly. "What does that mean? Does it..." His eyes widened. "You can't possibly mean...You Know Who..."

Persephone looked around nervously. "I can't say any more about it, Nico. I don't want to defy Hecate or the Fates. Change the subject."

"But..." Nico stood up and paced. "Persephone, do you know what that means?"

"Change the subject," she demanded. Her voice had turned awfully low, low enough to get his attention and force him to sit back in front of her again. "We can't talk about it."

Nico didn't speak for a minute, the new information having shaken him up pretty bad. That means...Harry had spoken to Voldemort...

"The Chamber of Secrets isn't the only thing odd happening right now," Persephone spoke up. "Your boyfriend, the son of Apollo-"

"He's finding demigods in Europe," Nico interrupted. "He's been bringing them back to camp. Are you saying that's not safe?"

She shook her head. "He should be fine."

"Then why did you mention him?" Nico asked. "You can't just mention his name right after You Know Who and not expect me to worry."

Persephone's expression turned sad. "Aphrodite really outdid herself to get you two to stick together."

Nico tried to wake himself up but to no avail. "Just leave me alone, Persephone."

"I can't leave you alone, Nico, not when you're not putting these things together," she snapped. "Listen to me. Why do you think Will was sent on that mission? Why do you think he's finding demigods in Europe?"

Nico looked at her for some time before letting himself think on that matter. Getting help from Persephone was one thing, but her telling him the answer was another. He knew she wouldn't say any more on that subject until he could pull his own weight in the conversation.

Will...she was right. Why would they send a healer, not a fighter? It was Apollo that had sent him...

"Are they all Apollo's kids?" Nico asked. "I thought the one wasn't...but if they are...Apollo could have had something over here...had multiple affairs...sent his son to figure it out instead of me or Percy or anyone. He trusts Will and he wants his kids safely at camp."

"I keep forgetting how bright you are," Persephone complimented. "Maybe it's because you've never gone to school before Hogwarts."

"Go away." Nico stood up. "Even though I didn't know that before, I don't get why that's helpful." He went to walk away but scowled. "I'm still dreaming. Let me wake up."

"I'm not done speaking to you."

"I don't care. I don't want to talk about Will anymore." The pangs of longing had started to ache and kept getting stronger. "I can't."

"What we were saying is important to your-"

"I don't care!" Nico snapped. "Just let me wake up! Wake me up!" He kept on yelling, then, yelling until his throat was as raw as his heart. Maybe soulmates were a thing. Maybe he just fell too deeply in love. Maybe demigods experienced it more harshly. But he never thought love could hurt so bad.


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning he woke up with Will on his mind and Will only. He locked himself in the bathroom before going into a trance, trying to find Will's soul. The son of Apollo was in a healthy state, the same as when Nico had checked up on him last. But that didn't stop Nico from worrying. Persephone said he was safe, but why did she think his quest was so important?

He told everything to Dominic over breakfast. His old friend was looking more stressed than he had in a while.

"What is it?" Nico asked. "Is there something I'm just oblivious to?"

"What? No, it's fine." Dominic laughed nervously as he looked back at his uneaten plate. "I-I...Can't lie to save my life."

"No, you can't." Nico moved closer. "What is it?"

"I...don't want to tell you." Dominic looked away.

"I couldn't give a _fuck_," Nico hissed. "Now, tell me."

"First of all, you are way too close." Dominic moved further down the bench. "Don't go kissing me again."

"I'm not in the mood to kiss anyone." Nico moved closer again. "Tell me."

"Too close, Nico."

"I'm gonna keep getting closer until you tell me!"

"I'll tell you if you back up!" Dominic stood from the bench, causing a few heads to look over. "Come on, let's go to Myrtle's."

Nico stood up, his hands in his pockets. "Are you stalling?"

"No, I'm making it so you don't get that close to me ever again." Dominic led him out of the room. "You have too long of hair for me to be into you and you have Will."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm not into you. As you said, I have Will."

"Good."

* * *

They got to Myrtle's bathroom in record time, having completely memorized the way by now. As soon as she caught sight of Nico, the ghost vanished.

"Now, what were you thinking?" Nico asked. "And tell me the truth."

Dominic walked over to the sinks and trailed his fingers across them nervously. "Um...it's just a thought, I'm not sure it's correct...but I've been looking into this stuff ever since you told me about the gods."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Okay...?"

"I was reading those Divination books, and you gave me that thing on Christmas, and I found a couple of other books in the library, too," Dominic explained. "Then...then you went and said that this morning."

"What part of what I said?" Nico asked. "I said a lot."

"That Apollo's had flings over here in Europe." Dominic's eyes started to water, something that made Nico freeze in realization. "What's to say he's not my father? What's to say I'm not one of you? I've never met my birth father. For all I know, my mom could have just made up that name."

Nico's blinked in surprise. He had been thinking that for the past year but never had he thought Dominic had been so set on it. Looking at him now, he really believed it.

"Dom..."

"Just help me find out if it's true," Dominic pleaded. "Because what Persephone said would make sense. She mentioned that quest so we could figure it out about me. And...and it would explain a lot."

"A lot...?"

Dominic turned to look at him, his hands resting on one of the sinks. "I'm a 'fucking psychic'. I'm...I grew up Muggle but I still didn't grow up normal."

Nico stepped forward. "Tell me everything. It's important."

"It's important..." Dominic scoffed quietly. "Why is this my life..."

"Hey, I've been dealing with it for years, life's not fair." Nico sat on the ground and watched his best friend. "But I can help you if you tell me everything."

"I don't know what everything _is_. Even though I have you as a friend, I'm still clueless about your world. You say monsters. But what kind? The kind with the horns that drive double deckers or just the really evil humans that kill? Or would you classify a monster as the ones children claim are under their beds? Or shadows? Or the really ugly things that used to bully my friend and me? Or would it be anything not human, cause that would make you one? So what's a monster, Nico? There's a lot of different answers that I assumed but never knew."

Nico opened his mouth, closed it, tried to force some words to come out but none did.

Dominic turned to look at him. "If a monster's nonhuman, then yeah, I've seen them. You're right in front of me. I'm pretty sure the horned drivers are nonhuman, so there's them. My old friend wasn't quite human, but I always assumed he was a wizard when I got here. But maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was nonhuman and nonwizard. Maybe I am a demigod but I always thought the monsters were just a screwed up part of everyday life! I didn't even see them as monsters! Then I come here, wizards are real, everything seems to be everywhere. I never thought twice about what I've seen."

Nico stood up with shaking legs and walked over to Dominic. "Grab my hand."

"Excuse me?"

"Grab my hand!" Nico demanded, his arm outstretched. It was another second before Dominic did as he was told, and they disappeared into the shadows.

They appeared in the grassy area before Half-Blood Hill, Dominic groaning in shock before standing on his feet. "Where are we?"

Nico got up and dusted his uniform off. It he got grass stains on it, Mrs. Weasley would kill him. "Half-Blood Hill. If you're a demigod, you'll be able to get into camp."

"And where is camp?" Dominic asked, looking around. His robes blew in the breeze.

"It's for a demigod to figure out." Nico gave him a small smile. "Use your powers, fucking psychic."

Dominic looked at his old friend before giving him a slight nod. He looked up at the hill, his eyes widening. "Damn, you guys have a dragon?"

"Mortals would see a pile of jumper cables or something equally as idiotic," Nico commented.

"Right..." Dominic started up the hill, Nico following close behind. "Are the campers going to attack me?"

Nico shook his head. "I'm with you. And new demigods have to come from somewhere. Just don't go too close to the dragon."

Dominic looked back at him. "You have a dragon but we can't pet it?"

Nico grinned. "You can if you want to meet my father."

They got to the top of the hill, a notable distance from Thalia's tree and the dragon underneath. Beneath them, Camp Half-Blood stretched out in the early morning.

"Time difference..." Dominic muttered to himself. "The sun's barely up."

"Can you see it?" Nico asked.

Dominic nodded. "Does that mean...?"

"See if you can step foot in." Nico stepped in himself. "And I haven't invited you in, so that's not what's up."

"I'm going to pretend I understand what that means." Dominic looked around him in awe. "So this is America..." He took a deep breath and took a step.


	18. Chapter 18

_**AN: Sorry this seems a bit rushed and I don't like how I wrote it one bit, but I wanted to get through this quick and back to the more crossover part of the fanfcition**_

* * *

Nico wasn't sure how to feel as he led Dominic through camp. He could tell his friend didn't, either. A demigod. Why hadn't Nico ever tried this before?

"Are we going to tell Ron and them?" Nico asked as they sat on the Big House porch, waiting for Chiron to wake up.

Dominic didn't answer, his eyes on the strawberry fields.

"Dom, I'm talking to you." Nico waved his hand in front of Dominic's face. "I thought you were thinking about this for a while. Why are you acting so shocked?"

"Why am I acting shocked?" Dominic looked at him as if he was insane. "I'm a demigod, Nico. A full-blooded...one of you!"

"Actually, we're different. We're half god, half wizard." Nico grinned. "Or half witch. Whatever."

Dominic shook his head in exasperation. "I just...had convinced myself that I wasn't. But I am. And...I can finally start to understand everything that's going on in your two-part life."

"But you'll also have to learn how to fight." Nico's smile dropped. "I'll bring you here on the weekends with me. You can stay in my cabin if you want, I doubt anyone will mind. But you need to learn to fight. When you go home this summer, the monsters will be more attracted to you now that you know."

Dominic sighed. "I was just about to be happy about all of this..."

Nico patted his shoulder. "You'll get used to it. And now everything will start making sense."

* * *

Nico spent the day showing Dominic around camp. Just as it seemed, Apollo had claimed the campers Will had brought and now claimed Dominic. It seemed like some things were finally making sense, even if they made everything more complicated.

"Are you ready to head back to Hogwarts?" Nico finally asked after dinner, his eyes on the Apollo table where Will used to sit. Dominic had kept to the Hades table with Nico despite the rules.

"Do we have to?" Dominic was looking at the Apollo table also, but for different reasons. "I...I really like it here. The food, the people. You never told me how awesome it is to be a demigod!"

Nico looked back to his own untouched plate. "It isn't awesome. You've been lucky to not see that yet, so you're just going to have to believe me."

Dominic shrugged. "Monsters can't get in here, so there's no point in worrying. I'm pretty sure I want to come here during summers instead of going home. And I need to talk to those children of Aphrodite."

Nico sighed. "Why?"

"You may be a hundred years old, but I'm not." Dominic gestured to himself with his fork. "I'm twelve years old. All this love stuff and hots for girls is confusing."

"And boys," Nico corrected.

"Yeah, and boys." Dominic accepted. "Can I go introduce myself to my siblings?"

"You want to?"

Dominic nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

Nico blinked a couple of times, not having expected Dominic to warm up to camp and his new identity so quickly. If anything, it was sort of freaking Nico the hell out. "I'll see you later." Dominic stood up and walked over to his half-siblings, leaving Nico alone at his table.

Alone. He was always alone at camp, even when he brought someone new. Even when Will was there, he was off in the Infirmary. Even when Percy and Annabeth and Leo and Jason...

Alone. The only thing camp ever offered him was solidarity. And he wasn't looking for that anymore.

"Dominic!" Nico walked over to the newly claimed son of Apollo and grabbed his arm. Without a word, he shadow traveled them back to Hogwarts. The dandelion burned even more than usual at such close attempts and Dominic's struggle. When they crash-landed in their dormitory, Dominic picked up his head to look around but seemed sick at the sudden sensation the shadow travel had brought.

"What was that?" he groaned, pulling himself onto his bed.

"What do you think?" Nico grabbed onto his collarbone as the pain faded. "You fucked it up by trying to pull away from me."

"You shouldn't have kidnapped me, then." Dominic spread out on his bed. "Why'd you pull me away?"

"Because." Nico closed his eyes. "We needed to be here. You can go to camp on weekends and the summer. That will be enough. But right now, you need to be here."

Dominic glanced at him but accepted it with a sigh. "Did I go overboard?"

"A little."

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I just...I'm still in shock."

"I know."

"You forgive me?"

"Yeah, yeah." Forgiving and forgetting were two different things, and Nico couldn't help but dread the weekend. "We need sleep."

Dominic nodded in agreement. "Goodnight, Nico."

"Night, Dominic."


	19. Chapter 19

Nico and Dominic had stayed at Hogwarts that weekend to watch the Quidditch match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, but the match never got to start. Even as the players were on the field, ready to go, it was canceled.

"All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms, where their Heads of Houses will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!"

Nico looked to Dominic. "I'm spying. Are you?"

"Hell yeah."

Nico grabbed his arm and pulled him into the shadows, transporting beside McGonagall. He made sure to keep himself and Dominic hidden in the shadows, and no one seemed to notice. But that was the least of his worries.

"Potter, I think you'd better come with me…" McGonagall told the boy. When Ron came up, she looked at him. "Yes, perhaps you'd better come, too, Weasley…"

"Then I am so coming." Nico stepped out of the shadows, startling them all. "If they get to, I am."

Dominic stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Me too, I guess."

McGonagall agreed and led them into the castle, up to the hospital wing. "This will be a bit of a shock. There has been another attack…another double attack."

Nico stepped back when he saw the two girls on the beds. One was a Ravenclaw he didn't know, but the other...

"Hermione!" Ron groaned.

"They were found near the library," said Professor McGonagall. "I don't suppose either of you can explain this? It was on the floor next to them…" She held up a mirror.

They all shook their heads. Nico didn't take his eyes off of his friend. One of his own was attacked, even if she wasn't in his house. And there'd be hell to pay.

"I will escort you back to Gryffindor Tower," said Professor McGonagall heavily. "I need to address the students in any case. Weasley, Cook, we'll drop you off at your-"

"Can I stay here?" Nico asked. "Please?"

"And what good would that possibly do?" she asked. "You two are no different than the rest of the student body. Now come on, we need to hurry."

Nico grumbled but followed along, assuming he'd just sneak back there anyway. Dominic seemed to have the same idea as they went. And as soon as McGonagall thought they were safe in bed, Nico shadow traveled back to the hospital wing and sat beside Hermoine's motionless form.

She didn't have any marks, didn't have any wounds. He felt for her soul and found that she was alive, still fighting, but nothing could comfort him. Not when he couldn't figure out how to save her.

* * *

In Herbology, Nico didn't do much but stare at everyone else as they worked. Two people were missing from that class, Justin and Hermoine. Both had hit too close to home for different reasons.

"I just want to say, Harry, that I'm sorry I ever suspected you." he looked over at Ernie's voice. "I know you'd never attack Hermione Granger, and I apologize for all the stuff I said. We're all in the same boat now, and, well -"

He shook hands with Harry, causing the others in the room to lose some of their tension.

Ernie turned to Nico. "And...I never should have gone against someone in my own house, especially someone from your family."

Nico nodded at him in acceptance.

"That Draco Malfoy character," Ernie continued, looking back to Harry, "he seems very pleased about all this, doesn't he? D'you know, I think he might be Slytherin's heir."

"That's clever of you." Ron's sharp tongue got him a glare from Nico.

"Do you think it's Malfoy, Harry?" Ernie asked.

"No." Harry's attention obviously changed. Nico looked to where he was looking, seeing several large spiders crawling out the window, moving in an unnaturally straight line. Harry hit Ron over the hand with his pruning shears.

"Ouch! What're you -"

Harry pointed out the spiders.

"Oh, yeah," said Ron, "But we can't follow them now -"

"The fuck are you talking about?" Nico asked.

"Looks like they're heading for the Forbidden Forest…" Harry didn't seem to hear Nico, but Ron gave him a look like one of his worst fears were coming to life.

As they moved to the next lesson, Nico lagged behind with Harry and Ron.

"We'll have to use the Invisibility Cloak again," Harry told Ron. "We can take Fang with us. He's used to going into the forest with Hagrid, he might be some help."

"We're taking Nico." Ron twirled his wand nervously. "He can help us. And...aren't there supposed to be werewolves in the forest?"

Nico couldn't help but think back to his own encounter with werewolves, even though they had been the Greek kind. "Both of you haven't answered me. What the fuck is going on?"

"We'll get you before we go," Harry assured him. "We've got class. I'll explain later."

Nico crossed his arms. "You better."

* * *

It was later that night when Harry and Ron came to get him, under that damn Invisibility Cloak that reeked of death. They headed for the Forbidden Forest, Nico still absolutely clueless about what was going on. But at least this time, they decided to take him instead of getting into trouble on their own. Once they were out of the castle, they explained it to Nico as they walked.

"'Course," Ron followed the explanation, "we might get to the forest and find there's nothing to follow. Those spiders might not've been going there at all. I know it looked like they were moving in that sort of general direction, but…"

They got to Hagrid's house. Nico looked around it as the two others fed meat to Fang, frowning at the emptiness. "Follow the spiders...who tells someone to follow the spiders?"

He looked to Harry, who had gotten Fang out of the house. Grumbling to himself, he followed them along to the forest. All of it had happened too fast for him to even register what was happening, but he kept his wand close as they walked.

"Lumos!" Harry's wand lit up. He lowered it to reveal the path of spiders heading into the forest.

"Good thinking." Ron elbowed Nico. "Light yours. I'd light mine or...you know, probably blow up or something..."

Nico smirked at the mention of Ron's broken wand and brought his own out, murmuring 'Lumos' to it. It brightened the path even more as they walked.

They walked for a while through the forest, only their wands as a source of light. Nico couldn't help but let his mind wander, thinking back to everything that had gotten him there. Hermoine petrified, Hagrid's advice, the trail of spiders. He envied Dominic, who was probably asleep back in their dormitory.

Then things got weird. They found Mr. Weasley's car in an old clearing, covered in dirt and mud.

"It's been here all the time!" said Ron delightedly, walking around the car. "Look at it. The forest's turned it wild…And we thought it was going to attack us!" he leaned against the car and patted it. "I wondered where it had gone!"

Nico went over by Ron and looked it over. "I still don't trust the thing."

"Of course _you_ don't."

"We've lost the trail," Harry spoke up. "C'mon, let's go and find them."

Nico and Ron saw it at the same time. As his brother stared in complete horror, Nico cursed himself for not having brought his sword. "Harry, turn around."


	20. Chapter 20

Two spiders grabbed Harry and Ron. A third went to take Nico, but he melted into the shadows before it could grab him. Nico stopped himself at the last second from killing them, instead following them to see where they were going to take the two boys.

He crept along the dark path, his wand out and at the ready. Shadows moved with him, walked with him, hid with him. He always found comfort when the shadows listened to him, but the dark was something he would now always fear.

They eventually got to what Nico could only describe as a giant spider nest. They were everywhere, over everything. The two spiders dropped Harry and Ron on the ground, the one speaking. "Aragog!" it called. "Aragog!"

Nico's eyes widened as the spider came into view, the largest spider he had ever seen. A spider that uncomfortably resembled Arachne.

"What is it?" the spider asked.

"Men,"

"Is it Hagrid?" Aragog asked, moving closer, his eight milky eyes wandering vaguely.

"Strangers,"

"Kill them,"

"We're friends of Hagrid's!" Harry shouted. Nico kept his wand out and at the ready, trying to think of how he would fight the spiders without a sword if he had to.

"Hagrid has never sent men into our hollow before," Aragog said slowly.

"Hagrid's in trouble," Harry answered. Ron was frozen beside him, which Nico would have thought of as funny at any other time. "That's why we've come."

"In trouble?" Aragog seemed concerned, but Nico still didn't trust the thing "But why has he sent you?"

"They think, up at the school, that Hagrid's been setting a... something on students. They've taken him to Azkaban." Harry answered.

"But that was years ago," said Aragog fretfully. "Years and years ago. I remember it well. That's why they made him leave the school. They believed that I was the monster that dwells in what they call the Chamber of Secrets. They thought that Hagrid had opened the Chamber and set me free."

"And you…you didn't come from the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked.

"I!" said Aragog, "I was not born in the castle. I come from a distant land. A traveler gave me to Hagrid when I was an egg. Hagrid was only a boy, but he cared for me, hidden in a cupboard in the castle, feeding me on scraps from the table. Hagrid is my good friend, and a good man. When I was discovered, and blamed for the death of a girl, he protected me. I have lived here in the forest ever since, where Hagrid still visits me. He even found me a wife, Mosag, and you see how our family has grown, all through Hagrid's goodness…"

"The death of a girl," Nico spoke up, stepping out from the shadows. "You mean Myrtle, right?"

Aragog didn't seem surprised by his appearance, but the other spiders moved forward. "Son of Hades, you think to spy on my family?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "I'm with them. Hagrid's my friend, too. And Azkaban is no place for him."

"So he's never attacked anyone," Harry watched the spider. "_You've_ never attacked anyone."

"Never," croaked the old spider. "It would have been my instinct, but out of respect for Hagrid, I never harmed a human. The body of the girl was discovered in a bathroom. I never saw any part of the castle but the cupboard in which I grew up. Our kind like the dark and the quiet…"

"But then…Do you know what did kill her?" Harry asked. "Because whatever it is, it's back and attacking people again -"

The spiders started moving restlessly. Nico moved by Harry and grabbed his arm, whispering a low "shut up".

"The thing that lives in the castle," said Aragog, "is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others. Well do I remember how I pleaded with Hagrid to let me go, when I sensed the beast moving about the school."

"What is it?" Harry spoke despite Nico's warning.

"We do not speak of it!" Aragog said fiercely. "We do not name it! I never even told Hagrid the name of that dread creature, though he asked me, many times."

"I'm sorry for him," Nico spoke up. "He didn't mean to offend you, he's just worried about Hagrid and scared of the creation himself. I apologize for any inconvenience and annoyance he's caused. And I apologize for the state my brother is in, as well." He pulled Ron to his feet, who stumbled and leaned against him, still white with fear.

Nico grabbed Harry and Ron before the spider could do anything else and shadow traveled back to Hagrid's cabin. Ron collapsed into a chair as Nico shadow traveled back into the forest, looking for Fang. As soon as he found the dog, he went back to Hagrid's.

"Follow the spiders," said Ron weakly, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He didn't leave the chair. "I'll never forgive Hagrid. We're lucky to be alive."

"I bet he thought Aragog wouldn't hurt friends of his," Harry defended.

"That's exactly Hagrid's problem!" Ron had started to regain his color. "He always thinks monsters aren't as bad as they're made out, and look where it's got him! A cell in Azkaban! What was the point of sending us in there? What have we found out, I'd like to know?"

"Calm down." Nico sat by him. "You're just upset because you're scared of spiders."

"Who wouldn't be?" Ron asked. "Why didn't you kill the things? You let them carry us away!"

"I wanted to see what would happen." Nico shrugged. "I was watching the whole time. And you two finally know that Hagrid is innocent."

"We should get back to the castle," Harry spoke up. "There's nothing else to do tonight."

Nico stood up and stretched. "I'll take you back to your dormitory."

Ron shook his head in exasperation. "You two, ready to sleep! Did you _see_ the spiders?!"

"Yeah, yeah, and we know you're scared of them." Nico held his hand out. "Come on. You can continue to freak out if you want when we get there." Instead of waiting for Ron to grab him, he grabbed them both before shadow traveling away, his brother complaining the whole time.


	21. Chapter 21

The next day, exams were announced. It took all of Nico's strength to not slam his head against his desk. Dominic didn't fight the temptation.

"Mr. Cook, please refrain from hurting yourself in my class." McGonagall swept by, making sure the desk was okay before going back to the front of the room. "The whole point of keeping the school open at this time is for you to receive your education. The exams will, therefore, take place as usual, and I trust you are all studying hard."

Nico couldn't stop himself from snorting this time. Yeah, right.

"Is something funny, Mr. Weasley?" she asked, her eyes now glued to him.

Nico held his hands up in surrender. "Nope, sorry, ma'am."

She stared at him for another minute before continuing on with her explanation. "Professor Dumbledore's instructions were to keep the school running as normally as possible. And that, I need hardly point out, means finding out how much you have learned this year."

"What if the answer to that, is like, nothing?" Dominic asked weakly, causing a few laughs throughout the room. McGonagall looked like she didn't know what to do with him.

"Mr. Cook, do you need me to take points from your house?" she asked. "Hufflepuff can surely live without another ten or so points, which seems so little compared to what you've lost throughout the year."

Nico whistled, sitting back with his hands behind his head. Collectively, they both lost their house another 30 points that day.

But it didn't matter. Nobody in Hufflepuff seemed to care much about the House Cup, knowing they'd never win it. It seemed that Slytherin and Gryffindor were always ahead, too ahead, and acting out in class was just needed sometimes.

That weekend, Nico brought with them to camp as many books on Hogwarts that he could carry. With Hermoine down, he was the only one left willing to do research. And now, he was looking for any clue on what wizarding monster could be petrifying his peers.

They arrived on Friday night, appearing in the middle of the dark Hades cabin. Nico dumped his things onto his bed as Dominic looked around, the demigod-wizard still unused to his new role of living.

"Who decorated your cabin?" Dominic asked, opening the curtains of one of the windows to reveal the stupid face of none other than Percy Jackson. After a yelp of surprise and a jump of shock, Dominic watched as Nico stormed out of the cabin.

"Why were you spying on my cabin, Jackson?!" he heard. "Why are you even at camp! Why were you at my window like a fucking stalker?! Why...why... Ugh! You're so infuriating!"

Dominic looked out the window to find Percy standing there with a grin as if he didn't regret anything. "I found out what time you usually get here and was checking to see if you were back or not."

"You couldn't even see in the window!" Nico's hands were flying about in gestures. With his anger, all his accents tangled up and mixed, making his words almost illegible. "So what were you doing?! Listening?!"

"Well, yeah!" Percy retorted. "How else was I supposed to see if you were back?!"

"Knock on the door!" Nico gestured to the large door that stood at the front of the Hades cabin. "Gods, you call yourself an adult?!"

"Um..." Dominic peeked his head out of the window. "This is Percy Jackson? _The_ Percy Jackson? This is the guy you had a crush on?"

"You aren't any better," Nico retorted. "Allyson barely comes out of her dorm nowadays, let alone talks to you."

"Uh...you guys? You're making a scene." Annabeth was suddenly at their sides, drawing their attention to the crowd of demigods. She flicked Percy in the forehead before hugging Nico. "It's good to see you."

"Yeah, same." Nico didn't hug back but that wasn't unexpected. If anything, Annabeth was just happy that he allowed her to hug him at all. "What are you two doing at camp?"

"Visiting." she looked at Dominic's head, still poking out of the Hades cabin's window. "You're Dominic Cook? Nico's wizard friend that ended up being a son of Apollo?"

Dominic glanced at Nico before climbing out of the window. Once his feet were on the grass, his robes were clearly visible, marking him as a definite wizard. "Yeah, nice to meet you."

"Likewise." she shook his hand and studied him. "Why didn't you use the door?"

"Annie, you'll find that he's like Percy. There's not much going on in that head of his." Nico looked back to Percy. "And you, don't ever stalk my cabin again."

Percy held his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine." He lowered his hands. "But it's good to see you, Nico."

Nico huffed in agreement. "I come every weekend. It's you two who have been staying away."

Annabeth and Percy shared a look that didn't go unnoticed.

"What?" Nico asked. "Something's going on...so you _are_ here for a reason, aren't you?"

Dominic leaned against the cabin. "I think I know what it is-"

Annabeth's hand clamped over his mouth. "I've heard about what they call you, 'psychic'. So don't you dare say what you're thinking."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Um... Look, I've got enough to worry about over at Hogwarts. So if there's something wrong then maybe you should just spill it before-"

"Nothing's wrong." Annabeth let Dominic go. "Not here, at least. You said something's wrong at Hogwarts?"

"Changing the subject, I get it," Nico grumbled. "But I do need your daughter of Athena smarts. So I'll let it slide for now."

"Great." Annabeth led Nico to the door. "Let's go inside and you can tell me all about it."

Dominic followed close behind, and not long after so did Percy. As they all came together under the dark roof, Dominic closed the door and grabbed his bag. "Nico, I'm changing and then hitting up the sword arena."

Nico nodded as he started to sort the books he had brought. "Some are in Greek and Italian but most are in English. I stole them from the library before coming here."

Percy sat next to his girlfriend on the floor as Dominic went about his own thing. "So...are the books magic if they came from Hogwarts?"

Nico pinched the bridge of his nose. "Again, you call yourself an adult?"

"Ignore him," Annabeth started to look over the books. "What did you grab these for? What's going on?"

"Some students, a ghost, and a cat have been petrified," Nico explained. "We don't know what caused it. But whatever is attacking was born in the castle, in the Chamber of Secrets."

"The chamber was made by Salazar Slytherin," Dominic piped up, pulling a shirt onto his bare chest. "He was one of the founders of Hogwarts. Hated anyone that wasn't pureblood."

"Pureblood?" Percy asked. "That sounds...racist."

"Prejudiced, but sure, think of it like that." Nico shed his robes, his green veins now visible along the neckline of his shirt. "He was against anyone that wasn't born from a line of wizards. And he made the chamber and apparently the monster. But we don't know what the monster is."

"What does the legend say about who can open the chamber?" Annabeth asked.

"The Heir of Slytherin." Nico's eyes followed Dominic as he left the cabin, now dressed in muggle workout clothes. He kept quiet until the door was closed again. "And please, don't go talking about this around camp. People aren't supposed to know much-"

"We know." Annabeth grabbed one of the books. "What year was Hogwarts founded?"

"It's in there, somewhere." Nico retrieved his wand from his robes and quickly changed the book into Ancient Greek. "There, you'll be able to read it better."

Annabeth quickly scanned through the pages as Percy gaped at the example of magic. "So the Heir of Slytherin must be back at Hogwarts...Ah, here it is. 990."

Percy whistled. "Wow."

"Yeah, it's not good. That means it would be nearly impossible to trace his blood down to a modern-day wizard." Annabeth looked to Nico. "And I'm sure you've already realized that."

Nico nodded. "I gave up on trying to find out who it could be. Especially after..." He stopped when he remembered the dreams of Tom. Tom Riddle... Voldemort. "Nevermind, that's not important."

"Come on..." Percy groaned. "We see you for the first time in forever and you have green eyes and golden fucking freckles and you act like nothing even changed so I didn't want to ask about it but now you're keeping secrets-"

"Oh, you don't know...I forgot." Nico looked down at his dandelion. "Um...Persephone blessed me. My powers were like killing me. And she was allowed to because I'm on a quest and it's not just because."

Annabeth reached over and touched the dandelion. "Nico...so you're on good terms with her?"

Nico shrugged. "Dad likes me so she likes me. But anyway, back to Hogwarts. That's more important."

"More important? You have a dandelion in your shoulder!" Percy looked to Annabeth. "That's insane, right?"

"Percy. You can control water. A hat turns me invisible. It's not that big of a thing." Annabeth patted Percy's shoulder. "So, Nico, you're trying to find out what the monster is?"

Nico nodded. "That's why I brought books with me this time. But we haven't been able to find out, not even Hermoine. She was close but then...but then she got petrified, too."

"Petrified... It only petrified, didn't kill?" Annabeth asked. "It seems odd."

"It killed fifty years ago, the last time it was opened." Nico started to look through another book. "Come on, Percy. Grab a book and help."

Percy shook his head before standing up. "No way. I'm gonna go train with Dominic. He had the right idea about getting away from this as fast as possible."

Nico sighed but let him go. "Annabeth, your boyfriend is a child."

"Tell me about it." Annabeth waited until the door was shut behind Percy's retreating form before talking. "How many people at camp know about wizards?"

"You, me, Dom, Will...uh...Chiron..." Nico shrugged. "Not many. And I was told to keep it hushed up. So we should keep all of this stuff in here."

"Definitely." Annabeth hummed as she flipped through the book. She looked...different, but Nico couldn't quite place why. "What happened fifty years ago? How was the monster stopped?"

"The attacks were blamed on an innocent. The attacker must have graduated that year or deemed it too risky to start it up again." Nico sat back against the wall. "This is too much, Annie. I thought...after I got my memories back, I was still thankful I got to go to school instead of being annoyed by it. Even though it was a quest, I thought of it as peaceful. But now something's attacking these kids and I can't figure out how to stop it."

"You're being too hard on yourself." Annabeth set the book down. "And besides, you're only thirteen years old. You aren't meant to have the weight of the world on your shoulders."

"I've been through two wars, I'm not an innocent kid." Nico looked at her again as something nagged at the back of his mind. What was it...? "But let's set this aside for a minute. What are you and Percy doing here at camp?"

Annabeth tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She had gotten older, more mature. Dark circles under her eyes showed that Nico wasn't the only one still suffering from Tartarus nightmares.

"I should wait for Percy..." she sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you. Especially because that friend of yours probably already knows. But you can't tell anyone else."

"I promise I won't," Nico assured her.

A hand moved to her stomach, and that's when it finally clicked. Instead of feeling two souls whenever he was around Harry, he was feeling two souls around Annabeth. But the extra one wasn't evil in the least.

"You're pregnant!" he announced, standing up. "I knew something was off with you!"

Annabeth chuckled. "Keep it down, Nico. I didn't expect you to get so excited."

Nico sat down again, not bothering to hide his large grin. "I can feel their life force."

Annabeth blinked before smiling. "You're serious?"

Nico nodded. "Congratulations, Annabeth."

"Thank you, Nico."


	22. Chapter 22

Dominic dropped his sword to the ground with a sigh, having lost to Percy at dueling for what felt like the hundredth time. How did anyone ever beat him? It seemed impossible without the use of magic.

"You're getting better," Percy complimented. "You lasted a good minute."

"A _minute_? That's not long at all." Dominic abandoned his sword and went to get a water bottle.

"Yeah, but it's longer than before." Percy followed and got his own water. "You're learning. Did you train at all before coming to camp?"

Dominic shook his head. "I used my magic for everything. Which I could totally beat you with, if I was allowed to use it."

"You could, but then you'd be clueless against a monster." Percy sat down, transforming Riptide back into a pen. "Nico's already said it doesn't work against them. Greek ones, anyway."

Dominic sat beside him. "So...he's fought a lot of them?"

"Yeah, we all have." Percy gestured around them. "That's why this training is necessary. Kids like us...if we don't fight, we don't last long."

"So it's not like being a wizard," Dominic muttered.

Percy laughed. "No, it's not like being a wizard. Though according to Nico, you guys have your own troubles happening right now."

"I guess..." Dominic shrugged. "We can't do much, though. But on this side of things...you can train all you want and fight all you want. It's different."

"A good different or bad?" Percy asked.

"I'm not sure yet." Dominic played with the water bottle in his hands. "I like the excitement, the adrenaline. But as soon as I face a monster, I'll probably go running back to Hogwarts."

"I wanted to run away when I first found out, too. But I couldn't." Percy patted Dominic's shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it. We all have."

"What age did you find out?" Dominic asked. "And how did you?"

"I was twelve, so like your age," Percy recalled. "Zeus had claimed I had stolen his lightning bolt. I had to go to camp and go on a quest...soon enough there was a war. I couldn't back out, not when they needed me. That's a complex a lot of us demigods have."

"Not me," Dominic muttered.

Percy looked over at him. "You won't know until-"

"Last year, Nico went with Ron, Hermione, and Harry to save the Sorcerer's Stone from a guy working for the dark lord," Dominic explained. "I...I stayed behind literally because I was too afraid. I don't do battle. But I like training. Weird, huh?"

Percy shrugged. "All of us are afraid. That's not anything new. Nico's afraid, I'm afraid, Annabeth-"

"Nico's afraid? Of what?" Dominic shook his head in disbelief. "The only time I've seen him truly afraid was when he had no memories of his past and he thought he was reincarnated."

"How much as Nico told you?" Percy asked.

"That he fought in a couple of wars and like the basics of demigod lives. Monsters, fighting, you know." Dominic shrugged. "Not much backstory, you know?"

"Oh, you're in for a long story." Percy grabbed another water bottle. "Listen up. I was twelve, and I was taking a field trip..."

* * *

Nico threw the book aside in frustration after getting to the last page without a clue in sight. "This is pointless, Annabeth!"

"Research isn't pointless." Annabeth kept her nose buried in her book. "And all of this is so interesting. Change the rest into Greek for me. I'll take them back to my cabin tonight."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "You're stealing my books, aren't you?"

Annabeth nodded. "The camp should have basic knowledge on the wizarding world just in case."

"In case of...what, exactly?" Nico asked. "You're not thinking we could possibly go to war, are you?"

Annabeth met his eyes. "Why? You're not sure who you would fight for, are you?"

Nico paled. "I..." He looked away from her gaze. "It's getting late. I'll help you get them to your cabin, then I'm going to bed."

"Nico..." Annabeth looked down at the books. "I... We'll just hope we won't go to war, okay? So we have to keep all of this hidden."

Nico nodded as he started to gather the books. "Then should we really bring these to your cabin?"

Annabeth shook her head. "You're right. We can keep them in here." She started to stack them against the nearest wall. "Don't tell anyone about why Percy and I are here. We'll announce it tomorrow at breakfast or something."

Nico finished stacking the books. "We should go find Percy and Dominic. Who knows what they're getting themselves into."

Annabeth stood up and stretched. "Dominic seems like he's a good friend. You met your first year at Hogwarts?"

"Yeah," Nico led her out. "We share a room. And he really helped me out when I was going insane over random memories."

Annabeth ruffled his hair. "It's good you're making friends, Nico."

Nico scowled as he fixed his hair, suddenly reminded of his physical age. "I may look thirteen, but I'm not."

Annabeth shrugged. "It's too easy to mess with you, Nico."

Nico grumbled to himself. Before long, they got to the sword arena. Percy and Dominic were sitting together, talking in low voices.

"What's all this?" Annabeth asked, throwing her hair up into a ponytail. "Doesn't look like much practicing is going on."

Percy smiled at the sight of his girlfriend. "I was explaining to him more about everything. Apparently, Nico didn't do a great job."

Nico shrugged. "To be honest, I've had a lot on my mind."

Annabeth elbowed him. "Really? You couldn't explain things to a new demigod?"

"I did the basics," Nico muttered.

Dominic stood up and grabbed the sword he had been using. "This is all so insane. Percy told me how he can blow up a bathroom and-"

"That's all you got from it?" Nico asked. "Honestly, I'm not surprised."

Dominic put his sword away before joining Nico. "Did you two figure anything out?"

Nico glanced over at Percy and Annabeth, who had started up on a quiet conversation together. "Not really... She doesn't have any knowledge of wizarding monsters. Come on, let's just get back to my cabin and get some rest."

Dominic stuffed his hands in his pockets as he followed him. "Did Annabeth tell you why she's at camp?"

"Yes, yes, she's pregnant," Nico replied. "She told me. Don't go telling anyone, okay?"

Dominic nodded. "Okay."

Nico glanced over at him. "How much did Percy tell you?"

Dominic shrugged. "Told me how he found out he was a demigod and everything leading up to both of the wars." He frowned. "Do you think our war in the wizarding world is going to be that deadly?"

Nico looked down at his feet. "Honestly? Yeah, I do."


	23. Chapter 23

The rest of the weekend went by without much going on. Annabeth and Percy told everyone at camp about the pregnancy, and most were excited for the two. Nico even shadow traveled Hazel over so she could see them for a couple of hours. But the whole thing was too happy for him to spend in it for long.

One book seemed promising on the search for the monster, but half of the page was ripped out and missing. It was an old book, one of the oldest, so it wasn't too odd. But something in him had given up on coincidences long ago.

It was between classes one day when Ron and Harry rushed up to him, out of breath and panting.

"Hermoine had this." Harry stuffed a piece of paper in his hand, a paper that looked too much like what that book had looked like. "It's a basilisk. The monster, it's a basilisk. It's been using the pipes."

Nico read over the paper quickly, thankful the English now came easy thanks to Hecate. _Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it._

"A basilisk..." Nico whispered. "My sword should work."

"Let's go to the staff room," Harry said, "McGonagall will be there in ten minutes. It's nearly break."

Nico didn't see how they would need a teacher's help but went with them, having promised himself he wouldn't let Harry face danger alone. Not again. And if Harry was set on warning the teachers, Nico would join him.

They got to the staff room to find it empty, no teacher in sight. As they waited for the bell, they soon realized that it would never ring.

"All students to return to their House dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staff room. Immediately, please."

"That's McGonagall," Nico moved a hand to his wand. "Damn, I should have gotten my sword. Both of you, stay close to me. That means another attack."

Nico pulled them into the shadows, hiding them as the teachers started to file into the room. Most looked more frantic than usual. Nico was too worried about Harry and Ron staying silent to focus enough to feel everyone's life source.

"It has happened," McGonagall told the other teachers. "A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself."

"How can you be sure?" Snape asked.

"The Heir of Slytherin," Professor McGonagall answered, "left another message. Right underneath the first one. 'Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever.' "

"Who is it?" Madam Hooch asked. "Which student?"

"Ginny Weasley,"

Nico felt his grip tighten on his brother, who sunk to the floor beside him. Murderous rage spread through Nico for the first time since his encounter with Bryce Lawrence.

"We shall have to send all the students home tomorrow," McGonagall continued. "This is the end of Hogwarts. Dumbledore always said…"

Lockheart stepped into the room, then, seeming unaware of what was happening. "So sorry - dozed off - what have I missed?"

"Just the man," Snape said. "The very man. A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your moment has come at last."

"That's right, Gilderoy," chipped in Professor Sprout. "Weren't you saying just last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?"

Nico didn't listen much to them as he tried to think of a plan. As soon as they could, they were going in this chamber and saving Ginny, even if it meant killing this heir. That was his baby sister they messed with. Just as if it had been Hazel, Nico was ready to do anything to get her back.

The teachers eventually left. Nico shadow traveled himself and the two boys to the Gryffindor common room, where they collapsed onto the couches in silence.

Nico stared at the ceiling as he thought, tried to come up with some way to save her. His sword might work against the basilisk, but he wasn't immune to being petrified. And then he knew something else was happening, something else was down there. Voldemort was connected to this, he was sure.

"Nico..." Ron spoke for the first time since they had gotten back. By then, the sun had started to go down. "You're going to help us go get her, right? You've got to."

"Of course I'm going to help..." Nico swallowed thickly before getting up. "I've got to get my sword."

"Is she...still alive?" Ron asked. "You can tell, can't you?"

Nico nodded. "She's alive." He didn't say anything else on the subject as he went to retrieve his sword from his dormitory. They didn't need to know how weak she was. They didn't need to know that she might die, after all.

He came back to find Ron up, his brother meeting his eyes almost immediately.

"D'you know what?" Ron asked. "I think we should go and see Lockhart. Tell him what we know. He's going to try and get into the Chamber. We can tell him where we think it is, and tell him it's a basilisk in there."

"And that will help...how?" Nico asked. "Look, bringing people isn't a good idea. I'm lucky Dominic's terrified or he would have hijacked my shadow travel when I went to get my sword. And Lockhart?_ Really_? He's an idiot."

"But he's who the teachers are sending," Harry shrugged. "So we'll run into him, anyway."

Nico sighed. "Fine."

They went to Lockhart's office and knocked, the sudden noises inside coming to a halt. Lockhart inched the door open and looked out at them. "Oh, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasleys...I'm rather busy at the moment -if you would be quick -"

"Professor, we've got some information for you," Harry said. "We think it'll help you."

"Er - well - it's not terribly -I mean - well - all right -" he opened the door so they could make their way in. Nico looked around the office as they walked in, scowled when he saw the professor had been packing.

"You were just going to leave my baby sister to the monster?" Nico hissed. "You were just going to leave?!"

Harry grabbed his arms to hold him back. "You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! You can't go now!"

"Well - I must say - when I took the job -" Lockhart muttered, packing again. "Nothing in the job description - didn't expect -"

"Fuck off!" Nico pulled himself away from Harry.

"You mean you're running away?" Harry didn't bother holding Nico back again. "After all that stuff you did in your books -"

"Books can be misleading," Lockhart said.

"You wrote them!" Harry shouted.

"My dear boy, do use your common sense. My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I'd done all those things. No one wants to read about some ugly old Armenian warlock, even if he did save a village from werewolves. He'd look dreadful on the front cover. No dress sense at all. And the witch who banished the Bandon Banshee had a hairy chin. I mean, come on -"

"So you've just been taking credit for what a load of other people have done?" Harry asked.

"Not surprising," Nico muttered, clenching his fists. Too much time was going by. Ginny's life source was getting weaker.

"It's not nearly as simple as that. There was work involved. I had to track these people down. Ask them exactly how they managed to do what they did. Then I had to put a Memory Charm on them so they wouldn't remember doing it. If there's one thing I pride myself on, it's my Memory Charms. No, it's been a lot of work, Harry. It's not all book signings and publicity photos, you know. You want fame, you have to be prepared for a long hard slog." Lockhart tried to explain. He moved on to his last trunk and closed it. "Let's see, I think that's everything. Yes. Only one thing left."

He pulled out his wand and turned to them. "Awfully sorry, boys, but I'll have to put a Memory Charm on you now. Can't have you blabbing my secrets all over the place. I'd never sell another book -"

Nico moved forward with instincts he only got from his demigod training, cutting the man's wand in half with his sword. "Yeah, I really don't think so."

Harry and Ron pulled their wands out, pointing them at what used to be their teacher.

"What d'you want me to do?" Lockhart asked. "I don't know where the Chamber of Secrets is. There's nothing I can do."

"You're in luck," Harry said. "We think we know where it is. And what's inside it. Let's go."

Nico shook his head in exasperation. "I hate bringing people along." He led them, anyways, making sure to keep his eyes on Lockhart as they went. The halls were empty, the other teachers weren't in sight. It was easy enough getting to Myrtle's bathroom.

"Mrytle, we need to know how you died." Nico spit the words out before the ghost could flee. "Please. You told me before, but I need to know where."

"Somewhere there," Myrtle pointed to the sink that Dominic had leaned on many times in the past. Nico felt the realization sink in.

"He's such a fucking psychic." Nico moved toward the sink and looked it over, smiling in victory when he saw the tiny snake carved into the side of the faucet. "Harry, come look at this."

Harry stepped forward, making sure to keep a wand pointed at Lockhart. "The mark of Slytherin?"

"Try to say something in Parseltongue," Ron offered.

Nico looked to Harry, who seemed to be concentrating. After a few English mistakes, the snake language finally slipped from those lips.

At the command, the sink sunk into the floor and out of sight. A pipe remained in sight, large enough to look like a discarded slide.

Nico gripped his sword, got ready to slide down. "Are you ready?"

"Well, you hardly seem to need me," Lockhart broke in. "I'll just —"

Nico kicked him into the pipe, making sure he went down before looking to Harry and Ron. "Who's next?"


	24. Chapter 24

The pipe eventually leveled out and they slid onto level ground. Nico quickly got his sword and looked around, but there was no sign of the monster or his sister. A black tunnel stretched out in front of them, however, no doubt leading to where the monster was.

"We must be miles under the school," Harry said, his voice echoing.

Nico nodded. "My guess is that we're under the lake. Harry, can you light up your wand?"

"Lumos!" Harry's wand lit up, revealing the tunnel in front of them. They all crept down it in the darkness, listening for every noise made.

"Remember," Harry reminded, "any sign of movement, close your eyes right away…"

Nico didn't think about his words long, instead forging ahead as Ginny's life source got closer. He needed to save her. He needed to bring her back to Mrs. Weasley.

He wasn't going to lose another sister.

"Blimey," said Ron weakly. Nico looked to where the others stopped, seeing that the basilisk had shed its skin some time ago. It was huge, but not too big. Nico clung to his sword, knowing that a wand wouldn't help him in this fight.

Lockhart suddenly lunged forward, tackled Ron to the ground. Before Nico could even begin to intercede in the fight, Lockhart was up with Ron's wand in his hand, pointed at them.

"The adventure ends here, boys!" he said. "I shall take a bit of this skin back up to the school, tell them I was too late to save the girl, and that you three tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body - say good-bye to your memories! Obliviate!"

The wand backfired, causing a small explosion in the tunnel. Rocks came down around them, flew them all in two different directions. When the dust had settled, he and Harry were separated from Ron and Lockhart.

"Ron, you okay?!" Nico called out.

"I'm okay - this git's not, though - he got blasted by the wand!" Ron called back.

"Just stay there!" Nico replied. "Harry and I will continue on!"

"I'll try and shift some of this rock," Ron agreed. "So you can - can get back through."

Nico hated the idea of splitting up with his brother, but he swallowed back the fear of what could happen. Harry and him were on the more dangerous side, after all. "We'll be back soon."

They continued down the tunnel until they got to a solid wall, two snakes embedded into it. Harry spoke in Parseltongue, this time without any English failures, and it opened.

They walked into a chamber, the basilisk not in sight. Nico's eyes finally landed on his sister, the poor girl unconscious on the floor. He ran to her side without thinking about what could possibly be around them. The name Voldemort didn't even appear in his mind.

Another voice was suddenly by them, but Nico didn't bother listening to what it was saying. He put a hand on Ginny's forehead, closed his eyes as he tried to feel just how weak her soul actually was. When he got the answer he had been most dreading, he started to try and transfer some of his energy into her.

But he should have been paying attention. He should have noticed that young Voldemort was in the room. He should have seen the basilisk coming. But he looked up, looked into those yellow eyes as the snake was suddenly over him.

Then everything went dark.

Loyalty. For the second time, he chose his family over helping Harry Potter.

Loyalty. Maybe he was sorted into Hufflepuff for a reason.

Loyalty. Maybe Mrs. Weasley having raised him changed his fatal flaw, just a little.

* * *

He swam in the inky blackness without a sense of time or reason. There were no shadows. There was just darkness.

Not the darkness of Tartarus. Not the darkness of fear. Not the darkness of the Underworld. Just...darkness. It held nothing. No fear, no peace, no life or death. He bobbed along with its waves.

There were no thoughts, no feelings, nothing.

It was just darkness.

* * *

Nico opened his eyes without a single thought in his brain. What had he been previously doing? It didn't come to light as he focused in on the familiar hospital wing.

"Nico!" Mrs. Weasley was suddenly beside him, her arms wrapping around him in one of the tightest hugs he had ever gotten from her. "You're okay! Oh, they said they weren't sure..."

"Let him breathe, Molly." Nico noticed Mr. Weasley beside her, and then Ron and Harry, and the twins, and Ginny...

"What happened?" Nico asked. His throat was dry, the words barely got out. "How...you're all okay..."

Mrs. Weasley pulled away and laid him down, tucking in his blanket. "Harry said that...that monster..."

"You looked into the eyes of the basilisk," Harry said. "I mean, you shouldn't have lived. And I didn't think you would. You...you looked like you died, fell right beside Ginny. But we got you up here, and Madam Pomfrey saved you both."

Nico frowned. "What...?" His thoughts still weren't making much sense. His family was there, they were all safe. The basilisk...

"Just rest, now." Mrs. Weasley ordered. "You need your rest. You're both okay, and that's all that matters. And Harry here killed the monster."

Nico's eyes widened. "He killed a monster? With what? His wand wouldn't have worked."

Harry explained to him about what had happened, about how Riddle came through the diary and how he finally defeated both diary and basilisk. Through the story, Nico slowly started to register everything that had happened.

"I left you alone to fight it...once again..." Nico curled his hands into fists. "I'm useless!"

"Nico, you did what you could." Mrs. Weasley assured him. "Now, get some rest. I won't take no for an answer. All of you, get out. He needs his rest."

Nico watched as they grumbled but did as they were told. Soon, it was only him and his mother. She assured him everything was okay before also leaving, having gone to check up on Ginny once again. Even though the girl was much better, Mrs. Weasley wasn't wanting to leave her out of her sight for long.

The hospital wing was then empty besides him, something that was odd considering the victims that had piled up in there. Now, Nico could only imagine the joy as they rejoined their houses. He wanted to be with them, wanted to join Hufflepuff at the feast that evening. But, once again, he was stuck in the hospital wing because of a failure on his part.

How had he survived? When he finally registered the pain in his collarbone, it clicked. _Persephone, you saved me?_

_Did you really think I was just going to let you die?_ she asked. _That dandelion saved you. It gave you the strength to live through the basilisk's gaze. It happened at the last second, where it would only be effective._

Nico stared at the white ceiling. _Thanks, Persephone._

_You owe me one, Nico._

Nico rolled his eyes but didn't object. It was true, Persephone had helped a considerable amount. Vaguely he wondered if there was more to it than her love for his father.

"Nico?"

He looked over to see Dominic had entered the room, his robes having been exchanged for muggle attire. He sat by Nico's bed, a look of guilt embedded in his face.

"Hey, Dom." Nico pointed to the dandelion. "Guess who saved me again."

"But you're okay?" Dominic asked. "Damn, Percy and I just talked about this. He said that demigods might be scared but they fight anyway. But I chicken out all the time."

"You weren't forced to fight, for one. To be honest, it had nothing to do with you," Nico said.

Dominic shook his head. "It had to deal with my best friend, so it had to deal with me. Nico, you could have died down there. And you should have."

Nico shrugged. "You know death isn't that strange for me. And I face it all the time."

"That doesn't mean you can just die on me." Dominic insisted. "We were scared to death. You know you're my only friend in Hufflepuff?"

Nico went to retort but realized what he said had been true. "Well...I'll try to value my life from now on. Okay?"

"Promise on the River Styx."

Nico laid his head back. "Fine. I swear that I'll value my life, on the River Styx."

Dominic nodded in acceptance. "You want to sneak down to the feast?"

Nico grinned. "You bet."


	25. Chapter 25

The feast lasted all night, something Nico hadn't quite experienced before. Half of the wizards and witches were in their pajamas, while the others had hurried and thrown on their robes. All the victims were back and full of life, zooming between the tables to talk to their friends. Even Hagrid showed up at around three, officially free from Azkaban. It was a nice sight to see, though even he didn't get out of Azkaban without a slight change to his soul.

"Five bucks Gryffindor gets the house cup," Nico whispered to Dominic halfway through.

"I'm supposed to be the psychic," Dominic grumbled. And they were right. Gryffindor once again won the house cup, followed by the announcement that there would be no exams and that Lockhart wouldn't return the following year. It had been a while since Nico felt so alive, so happy.

During the feast, he actually felt like he belonged. He could walk over to the Gryffindor table, make small chat with most of the kids there. He could sit at the Hufflepuff table and know nobody wanted him gone. Not to mention the number of people in that hall.

The rest of the year continued on in the same bliss, much to his shock. He and Dominic spent most of the time in their dormitory, even cutting some classes most days. They got a couple of detentions, one in which Nico cut Dominic's hair again before he had to go home.

But Nico wasn't going to let him spend much time at that hell of a house.

It was eventually time to get back on the train, though Nico wasn't too excited for the summer holidays. He wasn't just going back home to the Weasley's, not when he had to keep going to camp on the weekends. And he would miss Hogwarts, to be honest. When there wasn't a lifesaving job to be done, it was one of his favorite places.

Damn, had he changed. After the giant war, he could barely agree to stay at camp, let alone admit he liked the place. He didn't like much, back then. But in this wizarding world...he was happier. He finally had a chance to be happy, even though all his memories were still there.

For the train ride, they used magic for the last few hours that they were allowed to. Nico and Harry practiced disarming each other, both getting rather good at it. Ron and Dominic played Exploding Snap, though Nico could tell Dominic was dreading the end of the trip. Even Hermoine joined in on the dueling from time to time, giving pointers about how they were holding their wands and how they pronounced the spells.

As the train came to a stop, Harry handed Ron a piece of paper. "This is called a telephone number. I told your dad how to use a telephone last summer - he'll know. Call me at the Dursleys', okay? I can't stand another two months with only Dudley to talk to…"

"Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" Hermione asked as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward the enchanted barrier. "When they hear what you did this year?"

"Proud?" said Harry. "Are you crazy? All those times I could've died, and I didn't manage it? They'll be furious…"

Nico snorted. "Keep proving them wrong, then." He turned to Ron. "I have somewhere to go. I'll meet you all back at home."

"Somewhere to go?" Ron repeated. "Where?"

Nico stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'm going to follow Dominic home and then take him to camp."

Ron walked off shaking his head, mumbling "stalker" under his breath.

Nico looked around the platform and eventually found Dominic. His friend, as expected, changed as soon as he was forced into the muggle world. He dragged his trunk behind him, his head hanging low as he walked up to a woman that looked all too much like him.

No, Nico wouldn't even let him step foot into that house.

"Dominic!" Nico ran over to them the best he could with his trunk. "Remeber what I said? You can spend the summer at camp, and you're going to."

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" the woman asked. She looked down at him with a sugar sweet smile that Nico could see right through. "Are you this Nico he keeps talking about?"

Dominic seemed to hang his head even lower. "Nico...can we go to camp?"

"Yeah, we can." Nico stuck his hand out. "Ms. Cook, I'm Nico di Angelo. I'm taking your son off your hands from now on."

"Excuse me?" she grabbed Dominic's arm to keep him from walking off. "He's our only source of income. I-"

"That's my money that's being used," Nico cut in. "And I gave him permission to because I didn't want him homeless over the summer. But now that he's coming with me, you're going to have to find your own source of income. Now, please release my friend."

She seethed. "Why, you little shit-"

Nico yanked Dominic away from her, just long enough to shadow travel them away without her as extra luggage. The first place he had in his mind, unfortunately, was back behind the enchanted barrier. "Damn..."

Dominic leaned against him for a minute before straightening up. "Did you seriously just do that?" He grinned. "I've been wanting to take that tone with her for years!"

Nico shrugged. "Hey, I told you that you could stay at camp this summer. We needed to let her know before going. I decided to have some fun with it. Are you ready to go?"

Dominic grinned. "You bet."

* * *

**AN: last chapter, hope you all enjoyed. Next book will be up soon~**


	26. Books

Book One: Young And Old, Back and Bold (complete)

Summary: Nico is de-aged and sent back in time, becoming part of the wizarding world while he's still young. Will Hecate's plan work despite his lack of memories? For the sake of this story, Percy Jackson takes place during the same timeframe that Harry Potter does (canon pairings)

* * *

Book Two: Old and Young, Inside Out (complete)

Summary: Sequel to Young and Old, Back and Bold. Nico's second year of school begins with some demands from the demigod world. (canon pairings)

* * *

Book Three: Lives Collide, Harm(fully)(lessly) (complete)

Summary: sequel to Old and Young, Inside Out. Nico is starting his third year at Hogwarts, but Voldemort is no longer the only threat to his peace. (Canon pairings)

* * *

Book Four: Worlds Collide Harm(fully)(lessly) (in progress)

Summary: sequel to Lives Collide Harm(fully)(lessly). Will and Annabeth are finally putting their plan into action to peacefully coexist with the wizards.


End file.
